FTX's European operations suspended indefinitely

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has placed FTX Europe on hold until further notice in order to clear the way for FTX International. According to an official position of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, on Wednesday, November 9, the Cyprus Investment Services Company FTX EU Ltd requested the suspension of its operations and the implementation of a series of measures to protect investors.

It should be noted that the company is supervised by CySEC in accordance with the Investment Services Law and is only licensed to provide investment services in derivatives and/or other financial instruments. FTX Europe lacks a license to provide crypto-asset services and does not engage in the same activities as the bankrupt FTX International, which has created a "hole" of more than 8 billion euros from crypto-assets.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that the Cyprus Investment Firm FTX (EU) Ltd's operating license, no. 273/15, has been completely suspended, in accordance with article 10(1) of Directive DI87-05 on the Suspension and Revocation of License ('DI87-05,' due to suspicions of non-compliance with:

Article 22(1) of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 (the 'Law'), because the Company does not appear to be consistently adhering to the terms of authorization:

- Section 9(2)(a) of the Law, which addresses the suitability of the Board of Directors members; and

- the organizational requirements for the protection of client assets, as further described in paragraph 4(1)(f) of CySEC Directive 87-01 on the Protection of Client Assets, Product Monitoring and Inducements.

The above choice was made with the protection of investors and the smooth operation of the market in mind. The Company must take the necessary steps to abide by the aforementioned provisions within one (1) month.

9 billion euros in liabilities

FTX disclosed on Friday that it had applied to join the bankruptcy code of the United States. FTX International's founder has also resigned from his position as CEO of one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

Binance was in discussions last week about moving forward with the acquisition of FTX, but it changed its mind. The most recent data from international media indicates that FTX's liabilities total EUR 9 billion and its liquidity has decreased to EUR 900 million. 

[This article was translated from its Greek original]