FTX's desperate scramble for investors to repair its balance sheet has ended in bankruptcy.
With regulators around the world freezing the troubled exchange's assets, it was only a matter of time.
Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned as CEO and is replaced by John J Ray III.
Ray said: “The immediate relief of Chapter 11 is appropriate to provide the FTX Group the opportunity to assess its situation and develop a process to maximise recoveries for stakeholders."
The Securities Commission of Bahamas had already frozen the assets of FTX Digital Markets (FDM), which acts as the service provider for other FTX entities.
That was followed by Japan’s Kanto Local Finance Bureau – responsible for regulating crypto exchanges in the country – banning FTX from taking deposits from clients, although it is hard to imagine anyone entrusting their money with FTX at this juncture.
Australia's financial regulator followed along, putting FTX Australia into administration, the Australian Financial Review reported.
The main exchange operation, that runs FTX International, is FTX Trading and it is headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean.
Cryptonews has reached out to the Antigua and Barbuda Financial Services Regulatory Commission to see if it has plans to move against FTX Trading Ltd, but we had not received a reply before publication
With clients of the FTX exchange in the frame to suffer substantial losses and a possible total wipeout, regulators are attempting to try and secure the funds for those affected.
The Bahamas authority stated in its press release that FTX was now in provisional liquidation:
The Commission is aware of public statements suggesting that clients’ assets were mishandled, mismanaged and/or transferred to Alameda
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