LedgerX LLC, one of the few solvent pieces of FTX Group cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried’s crumbled conglomerate, is for sale and attracting interest from would-be buyers including cryptocurrency giants Blockchain Ltd and Gemini Trust Co, people familiar with the matter said.
The unit, which is registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a derivatives exchange, was a cornerstone of Bankman-Fried’s efforts in Washington. It is also considered one of the most valuable assets associated with FTX after more than 100 other entities filed for bankruptcy.
New FTX CEO John Ray and restructuring advisers have been poring over the company’s books in search of cash, cryptocurrency and assets that could be sold to help repay creditors.
Photo: Bloomberg
It is unclear how much LedgerX, which had about US$303 million in cash as of a Nov. 17 filing, might fetch in a sale.
In addition to Blockchain and Gemini, cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda GmbH and event contracts trading platform Kalshi Inc, which is also registered with the CFTC and uses LedgerX to clear trades, have expressed interest, the people said.
There are about half a dozen other potential buyers and more could be added, one of the people said.
Representatives for LedgerX, FTX, Blockchain, Gemini and Kalshi did not respond to requests for comment.
Bitpanda chief executive officer Eric Demuth said the firm was not interested or considering the purchase.
In a sign that talks are becoming more serious, at least some of the parties have signed nondisclosure agreements, some of the people said.
After FTX US purchased it last year, LedgerX sought approval for a controversial plan to clear crypto derivatives trades without intermediaries.
The firm withdrew its application with the CFTC as the corporate group of companies filed for bankruptcy.
As early as Wednesday, LedgerX planned to make US$175 million available for use in FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings from a US$250 million fund the company set aside as part of that application.
CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam previously told US lawmakers that his agency is in daily communication with LedgerX amid the FTX turmoil.
However, the potential sale was not discussed, Behnam said.
STATE SUBSIDIES: The talks over a factory in Dresden have a top end on par with what Japan is offering TSMC and outdo a cap other firms are being offered in Europe Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is in talks to receive German government subsidies for as much as 50 percent of the costs to build a new semiconductor fab in the country, people familiar with the matter said. The government is in ongoing negotiations with TSMC, as well as its partners on the project — Bosch Ltd, NXP Semiconductors NV and Infineon Technologies AG — the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. No final decisions have been made and the final subsidy amount could still change. Any state aid must also
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) senior vice president of business development Kevin Zhang (張曉強) told reporters yesterday that talks over a possible plant in Germany are continuing and that the earliest decision would be in August. “I don’t want to get into the politics side of the thing, but I do think that there is a need for us to provide our customers with a diverse supply,” Zhang said, adding that Europe is a “very significant geography given the customer base ... [and] the demand.” Zhang did not confirm the size of subsidy or cost of the potential project or
South Korea would avoid capitalizing on China’s ban on a US chipmaker, seeing the move by Beijing as an attempt to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington, a person familiar with the situation said. The South Korean government would not encourage its memorychip firms to grab market share in China lost by Micron Technology Inc, which has been barred for use in critical industries by Beijing on national security grounds, the person said. China is the biggest market for South Korea semiconductor firms Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc and home to some of their factories. Their operations in China
POWER FORWARD: The US company’s bullish revenue projection also lifted the shares of Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC and Japanese equipment supplier Advantest Nvidia Corp’s forecast for surging revenue surprised even the most bullish analysts on Wall Street, propelling the chipmaker to the cusp of a US$1 trillion market capitalization and igniting a global jump in stocks linked to artificial intelligence (AI). The Santa Clara, California-based company gained as much as 29 percent in extended US trading, on course for a record high, after saying it expects sales to reach about US$11 billion in the three months ending July. That gain puts Nvidia on track also to rack up the biggest one-day valuation jump in US company history. Nvidia, the biggest supplier of the advanced
RSS