PANews reported on April 8th that, according to CoinDesk, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao revealed in his newly published memoir, *Freedom of Money*, that in November 2022, shortly before FTX's collapse, Sam Bankman-Fried casually asked him for "billions of dollars, like ordering a Bologna sandwich" over the phone. Zhao stated that he never seriously considered acquiring FTX, and signing the non-binding letter of intent was merely a formality to assess whether it could protect users. Zhao wrote, "I had no interest in owning FTX, and I wasn't particularly interested in helping SBF. But we might have had to act to protect users and the entire industry."

Changpeng Zhao called Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison's public offer to buy Binance's FTT tokens at $22 per coin a "fatal mistake," arguing that it provided professional traders with a floor price for shorting. Zhao also disclosed the "Exchange Collaboration" group, previously established by FTX's Zane Tackett, whose members included executives from multiple exchanges. This group later attracted investigations from the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC, but he denied any collusion or market manipulation.