What happened to world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX? A timeline

After the spectacular collapse of FTX rocked a sector that was expected to revolutionize finance, Sam Bankman-Fried destroyed the Bahamas' reputation as a country that effectively regulates digital asset businesses.

It all started when FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried chose a prime piece of Bahamas real estate for the organization's new headquarters seven months earlier.

From a seaside café on the north shore of the island group, Stefen Deleveaux of the Caribbean Blockchain Alliance remarked, "Crypto was going to be our way out. We could interact with the global economy in a way we couldn’t before."


It added, "A huge part of my work has been destroyed—and that’s because of Sam Bankman-Fried."

One of the most high-profile cryptocurrency meltdowns, FTX, filed for bankruptcy on Friday after traders hustled to withdraw $6 billion from the site in only 72 hours and rival exchange Binance scrapped a potential rescue deal.


Venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and potentially more than 1 million creditors are suffering significant losses as a result of the collapse of FTX, which had a $32 billion market value at one point.

After relocating from Hong Kong, FTX established itself in the Bahamas, one of the richest Caribbean nations, barely over a year ago. The Bahamas made a big bet on cryptocurrencies in an effort to diversify away from offshore banking, which has largely moved to other territories like the Cayman Islands.

According to Jack Blum, a defense lawyer and senior counsel to the advocacy group Tax Justice Network, the Bahamas "was looking for other options, and here came crypto."

FAQs

Who is FTX’s newly appointed CEO?
J. Ray III has been appointed as the new CEO of FTX after co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned from the post.

What is the current net worth of Sam Bankman-Fried?
According to Forbes, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's net worth, which had previously been estimated at $32 billion, shrank to $991.5 million after FTX, its sister company Alameda Research, and 130 other firms operating under the FTX brand filed for bankruptcy.