Crypto exchange FTX is searching for $9.4 billion from investors, as well as rivals, Reuters reported on Thursday. Its Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried is urgently looking for a way to save the exchange after a surge of customer withdrawals.
Bankman-Fried tweeted on Thursday:
Sam Bankman-Fried Source: LinkedIn
So, right now, we’re spending the week doing everything we can to raise liquidity.
I can’t make any promises about that. But I’m going to try. And give anything I have to if that will make it work.
Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried told staff members he has discussed raising $1 billion from Justin Sun, the Founder of the blockchain, Tron. FTX’s found has also discussed raising funds with rival exchange OKX and stablecoin platform Tether, Reuters said.
Justin Sun tweeted on Thursday that Tron was “putting together a solution” for FTX.
He said:
Further to my announcement to stand behind all Tron token (#TRX, #BTT, #JST, #SUN, #HT) holders on #FTX, we are putting together a solution together with #FTX to initiate a pathway forward.
Meanwhile, the Bahamas Securities Commission has frozen the assets of local FTX subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets. The regulator has also suspended the registration of the company and has applied for the appointment of a provisional liquidator.
The Securities Commission said in a statement:
The Commission is aware of public statements suggesting that clients’ assets were mishandled, mismanaged and/or transferred to Alameda Research. Based on the Commission’s information, any such actions would have been contrary to normal governance, without client consent and potentially unlawful.
Sam Bankman-Fried-owned Alameda Research, is gradually stopping operations, Bankman-Fried tweeted.
He stated:
First, one way or another, Alameda Research is winding down trading.
They aren’t doing any of the weird things that I see on Twitter–and nothing large at all. And one way or another, soon they won’t be trading on FTX anymore.
Furthermore, Japan’s Kanto Local Finance Bureau has ordered FTX.com’s local subsidiary to suspend some of its operations until 9 December. The regulator also asked the company to submit a business improvement plan by 16 November.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki stated at a news briefing on Friday
We need to do everything possible to protect the interests of FTX Japan’s users. It’s extremely regrettable that the situation has come to this.
According to a Bloomberg reporter tweet, Bankman-Fried is under a US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation for possible securities law violations. This information has not yet been verified.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
