Telstra Ventures,a venture capital firm backed by the telecommunications giant,was also a small investor in FTX’s $US420 million Series B raise. It has not specified its exposure to the business.
On Saturday John Ray III,the newly instated chief executive of FTX said in a statement that “unauthorised access to certain assets has occurred” and that the company was in touch with law enforcement officials and regulators. As part of the bankruptcy process,the company has been moving its remaining crypto funds to a more secure form of storage.
Over the past week,FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried have gone from crypto darling to pariah,with the business filing for bankruptcy on Friday after a run on deposits and a failed bailout by fellow crypto exchange Binance meant FTX was unable to meet customer demand.
Loading
The implosion of the exchange has already cost customers billions of dollars in lost crypto deposits,setting off law enforcement investigations that could lead to criminal charges. Bankman-Fried has also resigned,with Ray,a corporate turnaround specialist,replacing him.
FTX was a US exchange that had a large cohort of institutional clients,and so far,any impacts on Australian businesses have been minimal. The company’s Australian entities were placed into administration on Friday,withreportedly a “considerable amount” of client funds still on hand.
However,FTX and Bankman-Fried’s investment firm Alameda’s deep integration with the crypto ecosystem as a whole means many crypto companies have been exposed to the collapse,including a business linked to an investment product offered by local comparison website Finder.