FTX Trading Ltd., the crypto exchange that was once one of the largest and most popular platforms in the industry, is nearing the end of its bankruptcy case after its founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced on planing huge fraud that led the FTX bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported on Dec 18th.
The bankrupt exchange, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last year, has proposed a reorganization plan that aims to pay back billions of dollars to its customers and creditors, who have been waiting for months for a resolution.
The plan, which was unveiled on Monday, outlines how FTX will distribute its remaining assets and liabilities among its stakeholders. According to the plan, the exchange will liquidate most of its crypto holdings and use the proceeds to pay off some of its debts.
The plan still needs to be approved by the creditors and by US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who will review it for any errors or omissions. The creditors have until next year to vote on the plan, with some changes likely to be made before then.
The major creditor and customer groups that have been involved in the case have agreed to support the broad outlines of the plan, but some details remain unclear or controversial.
FTX’s Deceptive Rise To Prominence
FTX was founded in 2019 by Bankman-Fried, a former hedge fund manager who envisioned creating a decentralized platform for trading cryptocurrencies. The exchange quickly gained popularity among traders and investors looking for high returns and low fees.
However, behind the scenes, FTX was involved in a massive fraud scheme that involved manipulating prices, inflating volumes, and hiding losses. An anonymous whistleblower exposed the scheme in October 2022, revealing that the exchange had been using fake accounts and bots to create artificial demand and supply for certain tokens.
The revelation triggered a massive sell-off that wiped out billions of dollars from FTX’s market value. Customers who had deposited cash or crypto on FTX lost most or all of their funds. The SEC investigated FTX’s activities and filed charges against Bankman-Fried and several other executives.
Bankman-Fried agreed to surrender control of his company to restructuring professionals in November 2022. He pleaded guilty to multiple fraud and money laundering counts in December 2022. He faces up to 20 years in prison for his crimes.
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