Insolvent crypto exchange FTX is seeking permission to sell some of its recently acquired subsidiaries, including LedgerX, FTX Japan and FTX Europe.
In a motion filed on Dec. 15, FTX’s liquidators petitioned a bankruptcy court to approve the “sale of certain assets” in order to recover the most value for shareholders.
These include FTX’s Japanese and European exchanges, brokerage business Embed, and LedgerX, a derivatives exchange that is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
After a strategic review of assets, the liquidators determined that some of FTX’s business units have solvent balance sheets, independent management and valuable franchises.
LedgerX, which was excluded from FTX’s bankruptcy filing, is one of the fully solvent entities that falls under the FTX umbrella. The firm was acquired by FTX in October 2021 and is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. FTX liquidators said they are looking to sell 100% of the interests in the company.
They are also soliciting bids for FTX Japan and FTX Europe, which largely operate independently to their parent company. In fact, last month, FTX Japan said it was working on a way to make withdrawals available to affected users in the country before the year end.
“The longer operations are suspended, the greater the risk to the value of the assets and the risk of a permanent revocation of licenses,” said the FTX liquidators of the Japan and Europe-based entities.
Embed, a U.S.-based stock-clearing company, was acquired only six months ago by FTX US as part of the exchange’s plans to expand its equity trading division. The company is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
FTX’s liquidators anticipates selling these entities for significant value, having already received “dozens of unsolicited inbound inquiries” for them, the filing stated.
