What are FTX's investors saying?
- By Reuters -
- Nov 16, 2022
FTX, formerly one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, is seeking new funding after a rush of customer withdrawals left it on the brink of collapse.
Regulators froze some assets of the digital currency exchange and industry peers are trying to limit losses, while former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried is coming under scrutiny.
FTX, founded in 2019, expanded rapidly and was valued at $32 billion in January 2022 during a fundraising.
Here’s what investors in FTX are saying now:
SOFTBANK
The total investment of SoftBank Group Corp’s (9984.T) Vision Fund in the U.S. and international operations of FTX is less than $100 million, a source close to SoftBank said on Friday.
SoftBank is marking down its FTX investments to zero, the source said. The complications at FTX mark the latest difficulty for the Vision Fund, which has been hit in recent quarters by a global tech rout.
SEQUOIA CAPITAL
Sequoia Capital said on Wednesday that it would mark down its total investments in FTX to $0.
In a letter posted on Twitter, Sequoia said that its Global Growth Fund III invested $150 million in FTX.com and FTX US, which accounted for less than 3% of the fund’s committed capital, while the Sequoia Capital Global Equities fund invested $63.5 million.
“The fund remains in good shape,” it said.
ONTARIO TEACHERS PENSION PLAN
The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) said on Thursday it had invested a total of $95 million in FTX.
Any financial loss from the exposure will have limited impact on the pension plan, OTTP said.
TEMASEK
Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek is preparing to write off its investment in FTX, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The company had invested between $200 million and $300 million in the crypto exchange, according to the report.
CIRCLE
Fintech company Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet on Wednesday that “Circle is a tiny equity holder of FTX, and FTX is a tiny equity holder of Circle.”