FTX owes $3.1 billion to 50 of its biggest customers, according to documents filed for a Delaware bankruptcy court with hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
According to the court papers, FTX possessed around 100,000 creditors, as well as assets and liabilities valued at about $50 billion each, before the crypto-empire filed for bankruptcy protection in the US on November 11.
The very same day, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down and allegedly fled to the Bahamas.
The US State Department and Security Exchange Commission are reportedly looking into FTX's accounts in order to investigate a $10 billion transfer between FTX customer funds and Bankman-Fried's other company - Alameda Research.
13 November 2022, 13:06 GMT
The real extent of losses is not yet known because of alleged poor financial record-keeping.
FTX used to be the second-largest global cryptocurrency trading platform. However, media and investor suspicions that the company may be a financial bubble triggered a surge of withdrawals that reduced the company’s assets from billions to virtually zero. The FTX collapse shook the crypto industry and eroded the $15 billion paper fortune of its founder and ex-CEO Bankman-Fried.
FTX claims that $270 million of cryptocurrency was stolen during its collapse and was transferred to other exchanges.
The crypto exchange used to have the support of flagship financial companies, including venture capital corporation Sequoia Capital and asset management fund Black Rock. FTX also paid for promotions from celebrities, including American football player Tom Brady and comedian Larry David.
The company is currently in the hands of bankruptcy experts and investment bankers from Perella Weinberg Partners. The new leaders have launched a strategic review of its global assets, carrying out operational reorganization and selling off some assets.
The new FTX CEO is restructuring expert John Ray III, who previously oversaw the bankruptcy of Enron 20 years ago. Commenting on the situation in FTX in Delaware, Ray III stated: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.”