According to FTX attorney Andy Dietderich, the troubled cryptocurrency exchange has “recovered $5 billion in cash and liquid cryptocurrencies.” However, the exchange is still “working to rebuild transaction history,” and the total amount of customer shortfall is “still unclear.” The recovered assets do not include those seized by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, which largely comprises the exchange’s native token, FTX Token (FTT), which has a total market capitalization of $444.7 million at the time of publication.
Speaking to a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Jan. 11, Dietderich also stated that the company plans to sell $4.6 billion worth of non-strategic investments, including subsidiaries such as LedgerX, Embed, FTX Japan and FTX Europe. The companies are independent of FTX with segregated accounts. FTX Japan has already drafted plans to return customer funds. In addition, FTX will end its 2021–2028 sponsorship deal with popular multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends.
In response, presiding judge John Dorsey granted FTX’s request for the sale of its business units such as FTX Europe. Dietderich said that the company will explore bids but will not commit to a sale yet.
Cointelegraph previously reported that FTX had $8.8 billion in total liabilities. At the time, sources said the exchange had very little in cash and liquid digital assets, amounting to an estimated $8 billion hole in its balance sheet. At the Jan. 11 hearing, FTX received court approval to keep customers’ names secret for three months after customers raised potential identity theft concerns.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges related to the exchange’s fallout. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has formed a task force to “trace and recover” missing FTX customer funds and handle investigations and prosecutions related to the exchange’s collapse. U.S. lawmakers previously called on the court to approve an “independent examiner” in FTX’s bankruptcy case after concerns over conflicts of interest, but it was dismissed by the presiding judge.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
