FTX files for bankruptcy, CEO Bankman-Fried resigns

Global crypto exchange FTX said Friday it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is stepping down.

“The immediate relief of Chapter 11 is appropriate to provide the FTX Group the opportunity to assess its situation and develop a process to maximize recoveries for stakeholders,” John Ray III, the company’s new CEO, said in a press release. “The FTX Group has valuable assets that can only be effectively administered in an organized, joint process. I want to ensure every employee, customer, creditor, contract party, stockholder, investor, governmental authority and other stakeholder that we are going to conduct this effort with diligence, thoroughness and transparency.”

Regulatory agencies around the world are circling FTX and Bankman-Fried in the aftermath of a trading scandal. The company is pursuing Chapter 11 protection in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware only hours after the Securities Commission of The Bahamas — where FTX is located — announced it was freezing FTX’s assets

Bankman-Fried will “assist in an orderly transition,” according to the statement.