Crypto exchange FTX will start its US bankruptcy proceedings, while CEO Sam Bankman-Fried will step down after a liquidity crisis at the cryptocurrency group sirened intervention from regulators worldwide. The company said in a Twitter statement on Friday, November 11th, that FTX and its affiliated crypto trading fund Alameda Research and approximately 130 other companies have started their voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware. The distressed crypto trading platform struggled to raise billions in funds to prevent its collapse after a stream of withdrawals.
“I’m sorry, again, that we ended up here,” said Bankman-Fried, FTX Founder, in a series of tweets after filing for bankruptcy. In his tweets, Bankman-Fried said the bankruptcy filing “doesn’t necessarily have to mean the end for the companies” and that he was “optimistic” the group’s new CEO would “help provide whatever is best.”
John J Ray III has been appointed as the new CEO, who will assist with an orderly transition. The week-long saga that began with a run on FTX and an abandoned takeover deal by its rival company, Binance, has hit an already struggling bitcoin and other token coins. FTX was struggling to raise about $9.4 billion from rivals and investors.
