FTX Exchange Halts All Crypto Withdrawals

Crypto exchange FTX has halted all non-fiat customer withdrawals, an FTX support employee confirmed in the company's official Telegram group Tuesday afternoon.

"Any transfers besides fiat are halted," wrote the FTX Support employee. The halt highlights the deteriorating condition of the exchange, which was previously still processing withdrawals, albeit at a slower pace.

Many FTX customers in Telegram posted that they had been waiting hours to withdraw their funds.

"It's been a full 11 hours since I've requested my withdrawal," one user wrote.

Just hours earlier, FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted that FTX had reached a non-binding agreement to be acquired by crypto exchange rival, Binance. Bankman-Fried tweeted that "all assets will be covered 1:1."

"It may take a bit to settle etc. -- we apologize for that," added Bankman-Fried.

2) Our teams are working on clearing out the withdrawal backlog as is. This will clear out liquidity crunches; all assets will be covered 1:1. This is one of the main reasons we’ve asked Binance to come in. It may take a bit to settle etc. -- we apologize for that.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 8, 2022

It appears customers can still withdraw their assets to fiat, although opting for the fiat option could see the funds take up to five business days for settlement.

Reuters reported FTX saw withdrawals totaling $6 billion in the past several days, citing an internal message to company employees sent by Bankman-Fried.

An FTX employee in the Telegram Support chat told panicked customers: "no eta for now, sorry."