SAN FRANCISCO: Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled crypto exchange FTX's founder and CEO, resigned from his post on Friday, and the company said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US.
The company announced in a statement that John J Ray III has been named the new CEO and that nearly 130 additional affiliated companies, including FTX US and Alameda Research, have also started the bankruptcy process. The action is being taken "to start an organised process to examine and monetize assets for the benefit of all worldwide stakeholders", it said.
Many FTX Group employees are expected to stay on board and support Mr. Ray and independent professionals during the Chapter 11 procedures, according to the cryptocurrency exchange.
Prior to this, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, reversed course and announced it was pulling out of the acquisition of FTX after examining the company's financial situation, which caused major cryptocurrencies to decline even further.
This week, Binance signed a non-binding letter of intent to buy FTX for an unspecified amount. "Chapter 11's immediate relief is appropriate to provide the FTX Group the chance to examine its condition and devise a procedure to optimise recoveries for stakeholders." Ray said.
"The FTX Group has valuable assets that can only be managed profitably through a planned, collaborative process. I want to reassure each and every stakeholder in this effort, including employees, customers, creditors, contract parties, stockholders, investors, governmental bodies, and others, that we will do it with due diligence, thoroughness, and openness "He said.
In a series of tweets, Bankman-Fried stated that FTX International was looking to increase liquidity and was in discussions with "a number of stakeholders." According to CoinMarketCap, FTX dropped from being the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange to 62nd place.
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