By George Ward
As the crypto industry continues to feel the heat of the FTX implosion, veteran CNBC host Jim Cramer says, Binance, despite its position as the world’s largest crypto exchange by market cap, is lacking “real legitimacy.”
Over the past few weeks, Binance has seen massive outflows from its exchange following rumors of an FTX-like issue with the crypto exchange.
Most Crypto Assets Are Worthless, Says Cramer
Known for hosting CNBC’s “Mad Money” program, Jim Cramer is surprised at the unwillingness of market players in the digital asset industry to say the facts as they see them. According to Cramer, market strategists were not bold enough to admit that most crypto tokens have no real value.
He further asks, “why are there no market stakeholders willing to say that the vast majority of cryptocurrencies are worthless? Meanwhile, the CNBC host disclosed that he is likelier to trust depositing his money on the sports betting platform DraftKings over Binance.
The investor has previously made some bad remarks about Binance following what he perceives to be Binance’s flaw as a financial platform. However, after Binance experienced massive withdrawals in recent days more than ever before, its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, reassured the crypto community the exchange’s liquidity remains intact.
Responding to Cramer’s remark, Zhao jokingly replied that he should avoid using Binance for the sake of all. The CEO also downplayed CNBC’s host’s recent caution by posting on Twitter that the exchange is safe for use.
In another spat with Kevin O’Leary over his accusation that Binance played a role in the collapse of FTX, Zhao made snide remarks at the Shark Tank Star’s comment at the US Congress hearing. According to the Binance boss, his exchange had no hands in the fall of its rival, FTX, adding that O’Leary was mischievous.
In an interview with CNBC on Friday, December 16, O’Leary defended his claims by saying that the Binance CEO called him a liar. Thus, implying that he committed perjury in front of Congress.
He added that what Zhao said was not true and that he was unhappy about it.
Mazars Ends Crypto Partnership
Following a renewed price surge for BTC, the value of the leading digital asset has sharply dropped toward the $16,000 price mark. Moreover, the new round of selling pressure came after news emerged that the Paris-based auditing and accounting firm Mazar had cut ties with the crypto industry.
Mazar was the consulting firm that conducted Binance’s recent proof-of-reserve audit. But, per Bloomberg, the French consulting company pulled the plug because the crypto market did not consider its PoR assessment convincing.
Interestingly, the firm quickly erased its record of services to Binance, with the exchange’s proof of reserves data no longer available on its website. Meanwhile, according to reports, Mazar did not insert an “assurance conclusion” for the audit it carried out for Binance.
The firm may not have found Binance’s reserve claim convincing.