Approximately three years after being purchased by Sam Bankman-Fried for $323 million, FTX Europe will be returned to its creators for $32.7 million.
After resolving a conflict regarding its European subsidiary, bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX gave the business back to its original owners.
A Reuters story from February 24 states that FTX agreed to return $32.7 million for the founding shareholders of FTX Europe, indicating that it was having trouble finding new buyers. In 2021, FTX Europe—a subsequent name for the Swiss startup Digital Assets AG (DAAG)—was purchased for $323 million.
FTX tried to recoup the money it had invested in the acquisition before agreeing to the sale. The exchange launched a lawsuit, claiming that the acquisition price constituted a “massive overpayment” and that the purchase was financed with consumer funds.
The founders of the firm, Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke, retaliated by demanding $256.6 million from FTX, rejecting the accusations. According to Reuters, the conflict was ultimately settled on February 21.
In November 2022, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, including FTX Europe. Following its bankruptcy, a number of cryptocurrency exchanges made an attempt to purchase the European division in an attempt to get some of FTX’s local market share.
For example, American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase made two attempts to purchase FTX Europe: in September 2023 and November 2022, after the major failure of its parent company. Crypto companies Trek Labs and Crypto.com were reportedly interested as well.
The company spent just eight months operating in the area. For the first time since filing for bankruptcy, FTX Europe opened a website in March 2023 where clients in Europe may request withdrawals.
Presently, FTX is nearing the end of its bankruptcy proceedings, intending to reimburse billions of dollars to its clients in full. On February 22, the firm was given authorization to sell almost $1 billion worth of shares in the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, as part of its efforts to collect money for creditors.