Binance, Huobi Block FTT Deposits After $400M Worth of Tokens Unexpectedly Released

Crypto exchanges Binance and Huobi blocked deposits of FTT, FTX’s native tokens, Sunday after about $400 million worth of the tokens were released out of schedule, with no official explanation.

FTT tokens follow an unlocking schedule wherein large batches of the tokens are periodically released. On Sunday, however, the tokens were released out of schedule without warning or communication from FTX or related parties.

Over 192 million FTT tokens were released, blockchain data shows. These were released from the main deployer address.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao noted on Twitter: “Binance has stopped FTT deposit, to prevent potential of questionable additional supplies affecting the market. Also encourage other exchanges to do the same.”

Justin Sun-backed Huobi Global followed the move shortly afterwards. “(We) will closely monitor the situation,” Sun tweeted.

The FTT release follows the week-long drama involving FTX, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday. Contagion risks are now permeating throughout the broader crypto market.

The FTT token fell 18% on Sunday to $1.78. The spectacular collapse of the FTX exchange has led to price declines on eight of the past nine days, leaving it down 93% just in November alone.

A year ago, FTT's market capitalization stood at around $8 billion, and now it's down to about $350 million, according to CoinGecko, though the new questions about the token's circulating supply might complicate the calculation.