Zhao also urged investors not to trade FTT tokens and to ignore the prices.
Binance had not been the only possible partner sought. Prior to the Binance proposed deal, Bankman-Fried approached cryptocurrency exchange OKX on Monday morning about a deal, but the exchange declined to move forward.
FTX.com is also facing scrutiny from U.S. regulators over its handling of customer funds, as well as its crypto-lending activities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating crypto exchange FTX.com's handling of customer funds amid a liquidity crunch, as well as its crypto-lending activities, a source with knowledge of the inquiry said on Wednesday. Bloomberg first reported the probe.
FTX's woes are the latest sign of trouble in the fast-moving world of cryptocurrencies where prices have slumped this year as a broader downturn in financial markets prompted investors to ditch riskier assets.
After rapid growth in 2020 and 2021, bitcoin is down more than 60% in 2022 and was last down 13% on the day at $16,277.
FTT , the smaller token tied to FTX, was down a further 67%, after collapsing 72% on Tuesday.
"It has been a truly devastating year for the industry," said Ryan Wong, a senior researcher at crypto exchange Huobi. Wong said the turmoil in the industry would "lead to massive distrust from the public towards centralized establishments."