FTX crypto customers worry they will never see their money again
Customers of beleaguered crypto exchange FTX are losing hope they will ever see their money again.
The company’s massive financial problems began spilling into the open early this month, and FTX was quick to halt withdrawals from its international unit. American customers had hoped they might be luckier, but many of them haven’t been able to get their money out either.
“My blood is boiling," said Matthew Way, a fundraiser for an Illinois orchestra who has about $1,800 stuck at FTX.
Where the money could be—and whether it will ever arrive—is anyone’s guess. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11. John J. Ray, the company’s new CEO who also unwound Enron, said in a court filing Thursday that “only a fraction" of FTX’s digital assets have been located and secured. Determining how much cash is left has been difficult too, according to the bankruptcy filings, since FTX didn’t keep an accurate list of its bank accounts.
FTX said in a statement Saturday that it is working “to maximize recoverable value for stakeholders."
“I respectfully ask all of our employees, vendors, customers, regulators and government stakeholders to be patient with us as we put in place the arrangements that corporate governance failures at FTX prevented us from putting in place prior to filing our Chapter 11 cases," Mr. Ray said in the statement.
Mr. Way, the orchestra fundraiser, was drawn to FTX in part by the buzz. The exchange came recommended by the social-media influencer Kevin Paffrath, known on YouTube as Meet Kevin.
Mr. Way parked the money at FTX late last year and kept it in cash, intending to buy bitcoin if its price ever fell back to its lows of early 2020. He never got the chance.
On Nov. 10, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted that the
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