FTX to return assets to clients from February

The Japanese unit of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX said on Friday it would return its customer assets from February.

FTX Japan is developing a system with which customers can withdraw assets via the website of Liquid Japan, a crypto exchange it bought in February this year.

“We deeply apologise for the big trouble caused by the prolonged suspension of services for the withdrawal of legal currency as well as crypto assets,” FTX Japan said in a statement.

FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in November and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive, after the biggest blowup in the crypto industry drew calls for tighter regulation.

FTX was run as ‘personal fiefdom,’ faces hacks, missing assets 

FTX’s fall from grace has sent shivers through the crypto world, driving bitcoin to its lowest level in around two years and triggering fears of contagion among other firms already reeling from the collapse in the crypto market this year.