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CZ says SBF asked for billions ‘like a Bologna sandwich’ as FTX collapsed
In his new memoir, Changpeng Zhao reveals he signed the FTX letter of intent as a formality and calls Caroline Ellison’s $22 floor price offer a “fatal mistake.”
Apr 8, 2026, 12:00 a.m.
What to know:
- Zhao says he never seriously considered buying FTX, describing SBF’s approach as “indirect and wishy-washy” and the LOI as a pure formality to assess whether users could be protected.
- He identifies Caroline Ellison’s public offer to buy FTT at $22 as the moment FTX was doomed, arguing that it gave professional traders a floor price to short.
- A Signal group called “Exchange Collaboration,” set up by FTX’s Zane Tackett, later drew DOJ and SEC scrutiny for potential collusion, which Zhao flatly denies.
On the collapse itself, Zhao is clear about where it unraveled. When Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison publicly offered to buy Binance’s FTT holdings at $22 each — an attempt to stabilize the market — Zhao says she made “a fatal mistake.”
“She had just revealed her floor price,” he writes. Professional traders immediately shorted FTT through that level. The token fell to $15, then $10, then $5. Within 72 hours, $6 billion had exited FTX.
