Collapsed FTX owes nearly $3.1 billion to top 50 creditors

NEW YORK (Reuters): Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has filed for US bankruptcy court protection, said it owes its 50 biggest creditors nearly $3.1 billion.

The exchange owes about $1.45 billion to its top 10 creditors, it said in a court filing on Saturday, without naming them.

FTX and its affiliates filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on Nov. 11 in one of the highest-profile crypto blowups, leaving an estimated 1 million customers and other investors facing total losses in the billions of dollars.

The crypto exchange said on Saturday it has launched a strategic review of its global assets and is preparing for the sale or reorganization of some businesses.

FTX, along with about 101 affiliated firms, also sought court relief to allow the operation of a new global cash management system and payment to its critical vendors.

FTX will explore sales, recapitalisations or other strategic transactions for some of its units, the company’s new Chief Executive officer John Ray said in a statement.

In a court filing on Saturday FTX asked for permission to pay prepetition claims of up to $9.3 million to its critical vendors after an interim order and up to $17.5 million after the entry of the final order.

The exchange said that if it fails to receive the requested court relief, it will result in “immediate and irreparable harm” to its businesses.

The predicament marks a rapid reversal for Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old crypto executive, whose wealth was estimated by Forbes at around $17 billion just two months ago.