beincrypto.com
The native token for the FTX crypto exchange, FTT, has taken a hit over the past 24 hours as new news regarding its Voyager takeover ambitions has emerged.
On Oct. 20, Bloomberg reported that a tentative deal between FTX.US and the embattled crypto lender Voyager Digital could result in the majority of funds being returned.
The agreement, which U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved on Oct. 19, cannot be closed until approval of Voyager’s bankruptcy payout plan. However, if it does go through, Voyager customers could recover around 72% of the value of their accounts, according to the report.
In late September, FTX made the highest bid of $1.42 billion in a two-week auction for Voyager’s assets. Part of the sale would involve moving Voyager customers onto the FTX exchange, where they would be paid back their digital assets.
FTT token tanks
The native token for Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange has not reacted well to the latest turn in the ongoing saga.
FTT prices lost 5% over the past 24 hours in a fall to an intraday low of $22.35 a couple of hours ago during the Asian trading session.
The exchange token’s losses are mounting up as FTT has dropped 9% over the past fortnight, falling from just over $25 to current prices. It has also been hit hard since its September 2021 all-time high of just over $84, having lost 73%.
Adding to the company’s woes is an investigation by a Texan securities regulator. As part of the Voyager bankruptcy case, Texas State Securities Board enforcement director Joe Rotunda is also probing FTX and its crypto billionaire owner.
The regulator claims that the company has offered interest-bearing accounts to Texans that it considers to be securities. Rotunda asked the New York bankruptcy court handling Voyager’s case to block the sale to FTX.
There is also an ever-present threat of regulators classifying exchange tokens such as FTT, BNB, and HT as securities when such regulations ever get rolled out in the U.S.
SBF acquisition spree continues
The mounting regulatory hurdles in the U.S. have not hampered Bankman-Fried’s crypto acquisition spree. According to Crunchbase, his venture capital firm Alameda has made 182 investments. The most recent was a contribution to the crypto trading platform 3Commas Series B funding round. This round raised $37 million in September.
In addition, are 22 investments that FTX made. The most recent of those was in late August when blockchain gaming firm Limit Break raised $200 million.
Earlier this month, FTX partnered with Visa to launch a crypto debit card in 40 countries.