FTX nears deal to buy crypto lender BlockFi for pennies on the dollar - CNBC

Sam Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, is poised to buy crypto lender BlockFi for roughly $25M, or 99% less than its last private valuation, CNBC reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation. BlockFi was last valued at $4.8B, CNBC said, according to PitchBook data.The term sheet is close to completed and could be signed by the end of the week, one of the people said. Still, an acquisition cold take months to close and the price could change by the time a deal is reached, the person said. Another person told CNBC that BlockFi is considering multiple offers.With cryptocurrencies sliding in the past seven months, and bitcoin (BTC-USD) dropping 72% from its peak of ~$68.8K in November, several crypto-focused firms are struggling to survive. Crypto lender Celsius has reportedly hired advisers to assist with a potential bankruptcy filing.Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that FTX was in talks to invest in BlockFi, days after the crypto lender obtained a $250M revolving line of credit from FTX.Earlier, bitcoin (BTC-USD) may bottom in July as weekly, monthly charts signal possible trend reversal