FTX Asset Freeze – The Nassau Guardian

When FTX Digital Markets (FDM) head Sam Bankman-Fried yesterday erupted in a chorus of curses at his followers, clients and investors via Twitter, the Bahamas Securities Commission (SCB) announced that his company has frozen its assets and appointed an interim liquidator. Confused, FTX is now making international headlines.

SCB issued a statement late yesterday, alleging that Bahamas-based FTX had mishandled client assets and transferred them to FTX’s supposed “sister” company, Alameda Research, to mismanage and/or I explained that I was aware of an official statement suggesting the transfer. America.

Both of these actions violated “normal governance” without the consent of the company’s customers and were “potentially illegal” moves, it said.

Bryan Sims KC of Lenox Paton has been appointed interim liquidator of FTX Digital Markets Limited, according to a statement from SCB.

“Today, the Securities Commission (Commission) of the Bahamas took action to freeze the assets of FTX Digital Markets and related parties,” the statement said.

“The Commission also suspended registration and applied to the Supreme Court of the Bahamas to appoint an interim liquidator for FTX Digital Markets Ltd. (FDM).”

The statement added: ”

Valdez Russell, Vice President of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility at FTX, said: Guardian business Yesterday, the SCB said it was quick to demonstrate its importance as a regulator in the digital asset space and to “maintain the Bahamas’ reputation for integrity and jurisdiction.”

“As FTX strives to do the right thing for its customers, investors and employees, the involvement of the interim liquidator is necessary due diligence to contribute to a better future for digital assets in the global landscape. It will prove useful in the process of facilitating the .

The world has been waiting to understand how a sector was once, and in some cases still is, explained.

The Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act was created just like FTX for one week.

As FTX is in a liquidity crisis, seeking funds to pay customers who have decided to cash out billions of dollars from the exchange, the company’s regulator, SCB, said through its liquidators that the process was It should be done in a controlled manner. and legal way.

SCB’s statement said the Securities Commission had “aggressively” dealt with the FTX fiasco since news broke about the company’s liquidity problems on Tuesday.

“The commission decided that it was prudent to put FDM into interim liquidation to protect its assets and stabilize the company,” the SCB statement said.

“The Commission is committed to working with the Interim Liquidator to seek the best possible outcome for FTX customers and other stakeholders.”

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating the inner workings of FTX. It was announced on Tuesday that Bankman-Fried has asked Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, the owner of Binance, a token of FTX, to bail him out after the FTT run. After I left FTX due to the liquidity crisis.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, made it clear Wednesday via Twitter that its conditional intention to bail out FTX has failed.

Many Bahamians have uprooted their lives to help build FTX’s cryptocurrency exchange in the Bahamas.

The company promised to introduce many Bahamians to the world of cryptocurrencies and educate them on the next generation of fintech mechanisms.

Many companies have come to rely on FTX for their operations.

The company is understood to have ordered $10,000 worth of food per week from local vendors.

FTX also amassed tens of millions of real estate holdings and broke ground in April on its $60 million headquarters complex in western New Providence, which has been the envy of internet-based companies.

Now, those dreams, along with the company’s assets, are at a standstill until the interim liquidators complete their reports and determine the future direction of FTX.

apology

Bankman-Fried took to Twitter yesterday to apologize for mishandling the multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency exchange and related digital asset business.

“I’m sorry. That’s the biggest thing,” says Bankman-Fried.

“I was f_____. I should have done better.

“And we’re where we are now. This sucks, and it’s on me. I’m sorry.”

“Anyway, my number one priority right now is, by far, doing the right thing for our users.

“And I’m going to do everything I can to do that. I’ll take responsibility and do what I can.”

Bankman-Fried is widely reported to be on a rush to find $8 billion to fill the company’s liquidity hole and normalize relations with investors and customers.

In a Twitter confession, he claimed he would do everything he could to raise the money.

“So we are now spending the week doing everything we can to increase liquidity,” he said.

“I can’t make any promises about that. But I’ll try. And if it works, give me whatever I have to do.”

In April, Prime Minister Philip Davis officially opened an office for FTX, saying in a ribbon-cutting speech that FTX’s presence in the Bahamas would motivate more fintech firms to open offices. He explained that he hopes

“Companies like FTX want to be in a stable, well-regulated environment like ours, where continued growth and expansion is supported,” said Davis.

Bankman-Fried says his company chose the Bahamas from a long list of countries for the DARE Act, a digital asset law.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for FTX’s headquarters, Bankman-Fried said FTX searched the world with a fine comb to find a well-regulated jurisdiction in which to set up a store.

“We went country by country and canceled things that needed a license but couldn’t be granted a license,” he said.

“I didn’t know where it would end up… one of them (the country) had actually passed a cryptocurrency regulatory regime already, one of the few jurisdictions in the world and a few emissaries we I sent it off to check it out and had a really, really good experience and that was the Bahamas.

“In the middle of the process of trying to figure out where we are, the Bahamas jumped forward.”

Bankman-Fried said the work done by SCB and the government was instrumental in FTX’s decision to move the company to the country.

FTX also collaborated with thought leadership group SALT to host one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain conferences in Baha Mar this year called Crypto Bahamas.

Baha Mar recently hailed FTX as good for the country and good for Baha Mar.

The future of Crypto Bahamas, which has hosted speakers such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President Bill Clinton, is now on the balance.

Crypto Bahamas 2023 has already been announced and organizers plan to fill Baha Mar with attendees.