Binance CEO pledges to form a $1 billion fund to buy distressed assets in the wake of FTX's collapse

• Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said he aims to commit $1 billion to invest in distressed crypto assets.
• "If that's not enough we can allocate more," Zhao told Bloomberg.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pledged to launch a fund that will commit $1 billion to invest in distressed crypto assets.

"If that's not enough we can allocate more," Zhao said.

In a Bloomberg interview on Thursday, the crypto billionaire expanded on his previously announced plans to back crypto projects in need of liquidity in the wake of FTX's implosion.

"We are going with a loose approach where different industry players will contribute as they wish," he added.

Zhao's efforts come as the crypto industry digests FTX's collapse after it failed to plug a shortfall of $8 billion in a severe liquidity crunch. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection along with more than 130 other affiliated entities that made up the Bahamas-based FTX Group, while its founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down as the CEO.

It's downfall sparked fears of contagion risks, especially after crypto brokerage Genesis warned it may have to file for bankruptcy if it doesn't receive funding for its lending unit. "There will be pain whenever one player goes down," Zhao said.

"To reduce further cascading negative effects of FTX, Binance is forming an industry recovery fund, to help projects who are otherwise strong, but in a liquidity crisis," Zhao wrote in an November tweet announcing the recovery fund.

When asked when the fund plans to go live, Zhao stressed it would launch imminently. "The industry needs saving now, not in 2023."