bankman fried

FTX lawyer says in first bankruptcy hearing this is different ‘animal’

Lawyers for collapsed crypto exchange FTX said in the company’s first bankruptcy hearing on Tuesday that regulators from the Bahamas, where FTX was headquartered, have agreed to consolidate proceedings in Delaware.

FTX’s lawyers, who were brought in by new leadership to handle restructuring, filed an emergency motion last week to secure the move to the U.S. The hearing on Tuesday was the initial step in the resolution of the largest cryptocurrency bankruptcy on record.

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“What we are dealing with is a different sort of animal,” said FTX counsel James Bromley. “Unfortunately, the FTX debtors were not particularly well run, and that is an understatement.”

Regarding FTX’s founder, this was an organization that was “effectively run as a personal fiefdom of Sam Bankman-Fried,” an FTX attorney told the court.

FTX lawyers confirmed earlier reports that the Southern District of New York’s Cyber Crimes unit has begun an investigation into the matter. FTX lawyers have also made reference to cyberattacks, suggesting there were multiple attacks beyond the $477 million hack that occurred shortly after the company entered bankruptcy on Nov. 11. In that attack, hackers

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Cryptocurrency exchange FTX hurtles toward bankruptcy

The crisis engulfing Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.com is rapidly worsening, with the onetime crypto wunderkind warning of bankruptcy if his firm can’t secure funds to cover a shortfall of as much as $8 billion.

Bankman-Fried informed investors of the gap on Wednesday, shortly before rival exchange Binance abruptly scrapped a takeover offer. He said FTX.com needed $4 billion to remain solvent and is attempting to raise rescue financing in the form of debt, equity, or a combination of the two, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

“I f—ed up,” Bankman-Fried told investors on the call, according to people with knowledge of the conversation. He said he would be “incredibly, unbelievably grateful” if investors could help.

An FTX representative declined to comment.

The acknowledgment of his firm’s deepening troubles and limited options is a stunning turn for Bankman-Fried, who was once worth $26 billion and likened to John Pierpont Morgan. It also underscores the uncertainty hanging over FTX, its clients and crypto markets.

US authorities are investigating FTX, the vast bulk of Bankman-Fried’s wealth has evaporated and rivals are benefiting from his woes. Robinhood Markets Inc. has seen its biggest crypto inflows ever in the last two days,

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