Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has agreed to sell U.S. derivatives exchange LedgerX for $50 million, a fraction of its purchase price when FTX bought it, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. If the court overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy approves the sale, it would mark a nearly $250 million loss for FTX on its investment in LedgerX, which the company acquired for about $298 million in August 2021, according to a copy of FTX’s 2021 annual financial documents seen by The Wall Street Journal. An affiliate of Miami International Holdings Inc., which operates a number of options exchanges in the U.S., is the proposed buyer for LedgerX. Proceeds from the sale would help FTX’s new management close the $9 billion gap in customer funds it entered bankruptcy with last year. The proposed deal “is an example of our continuing efforts to monetize assets to deliver recoveries to stakeholders,” said John J. Ray III, FTX’s chief executive. In the years before FTX filed for bankruptcy, it went on a streak of investing in and buying other crypto companies. FTX, Alameda Research and other entities controlled by FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried put more than $5 billion into more than 150 startups, as well as venture firms like Sequoia Capital.
