According to a report from Japanese media NHK, the Japanese exchange BitFlyer is planning to acquire all shares of FTX Japan with a budget of several billion yen, and transform it into a digital asset management or custodial company targeting institutional investors.
(BitFlyer, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, is planning to acquire all shares of FTX Japan with a budget of several billion yen, and transform it into a digital asset management or custodial company targeting institutional investors.)
(Background: FTX creditors oppose cash repayment, suggesting payment in cryptocurrency to avoid tax issues.)
Index:
BitFlyer Intends to Acquire FTX Japan
FTT Slightly Rises and Falls
FTX Creditors Dissatisfied with Cash Compensation
Since the bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022, the reorganization team has been raising funds to repay creditors, including the sale of subsidiaries such as FTX Japan, FTX Europe, derivatives platform LedgerX, and stock trading service company Embed.
BitFlyer Intends to Acquire FTX Japan
Today, according to Japanese media NHK, the local cryptocurrency exchange BitFlyer is planning to acquire all shares of FTX Japan with a budget of several billion yen, gaining full control of the company. The plan is to reposition FTX Japan as a digital asset management or custodial company targeting institutional investors. However, BitFlyer has not made an official statement regarding this matter, and it remains unknown if there are other bidders. With the sale of FTX subsidiaries one after another, the FTX brand may disappear forever, truly becoming a relic of the times.
Since the bankruptcy of FTX Trading, FTX Japan has suspended all services. However, due to asset segregation, users’ encrypted assets have already been repaid as early as last year.
FTT Slightly Rises and Falls
Although BitFlyer’s acquisition is likely to result in a brand name change and the discontinuation of support for FTX’s original platform token FTT, the token has already become somewhat of a meme and its price fluctuations are difficult to predict.
After the news of the planned acquisition was revealed, FTT saw a slight increase of 1.1% within an hour, but quickly gave back the gain. At the time of writing, it is reported to be $1.52.
FTX Creditors Dissatisfied with Cash Compensation
Despite FTX actively raising funds and proposing compensation plans to investors, the preference for cash payments instead of cryptocurrency has caused dissatisfaction among creditors.
Against this backdrop, on June 14, FTX victims filed documents with the United States Southern District Court of New York, claiming that the frozen assets by FTX (approximately $8 billion) belong to their customers and not the bankruptcy estate, and requested the court to make a ruling. The documents show that FTX filed for bankruptcy during a bear market in the cryptocurrency industry when prices plummeted, making it extremely unfair to assess the value of customer claims based on the prices at that time.
Adam Moskowitz and David Boies, the lawyers representing FTX victims, stated in the submitted documents that many people view the bankruptcy process as a second theft.
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FTX Creditors Oppose Cash Repayment, Suggest Payment in Cryptocurrency to Avoid Tax Issues