Over $3.5 billion in digital assets from exchange FTX. The regulator explained that the cryptocurrency was transferred to its wallet “for safekeeping” and is “temporarily held by the commission.”
Bahamian regulator seizes FTX’s cryptocurrency
Bahamas Securities Commission (SCB) Thursday issued court order to transfer digital assets it owns or controls or management into a secure wallet of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. (FTXDM). FTX Digital Markets is the Bahamian subsidiary of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Trading Ltd., which owns and operates the cryptocurrency trading platform FTX.com.
The regulator wrote on his November 12th: Over US$3.5 billion, based on market prices at the time of transfer, in digital wallets maintained by the European Commission.
The Commission added that it was exercising “regulatory authority to act under the authority of an order issued by the Supreme Court of the Bahamas.” He stressed that the process “does not involve creating additional tokens.”
The seized virtual currencies were “temporarily held by the Commission until the Supreme Court of the Bahamas directs the Commission to deliver them to customers and creditors who own them, or to JPL. The [joint interim liquidators] will be administered under the rules governing bankruptcy property for the benefit of FTXDM’s customers and creditors,” the regulator said.
The Securities Commission noted that the seizure had taken place on 16 November “based on a sealing order requested by the Commission and granted by the Supreme Court of the Bahamas.” 30}
The Commission did not direct, approve, or suggest prioritization of Bahamian customer withdrawals to FTXDM.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, costing an estimated 1 million customers and investors billions of dollars. The US government and regulators have filed multiple fraud charges against the cryptocurrency company and his Bankman-Fried. The former FTX CEO was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the U.S. last week, and he is currently staying at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California with his $250 million bond.
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