The crypto industry witnessed a wild uproar last week when the scandalous affairs of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bahamas-based exchange company, FTX, were brought to light.
A week after the tragic incident was revealed to the public, companies known to have been related to the now-bankrupt company are publishing press releases announcing their delinking from FTX. The latest company to do so this week is Bitvo, a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange platform.
Bitvo, a Calgary-based exchange, posted on Twitter that it terminated its acquisition agreement deal with FTX and its affiliates. Earlier in June 2022, the CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, announced his plans to acquire the Canadian exchange Bitvo, as this was to be FTX’s move into the Canadian crypto market.
In light of all that has happened recently, Bitvo, the cryptocurrency exchange, announced on November 15 that it would continue operating independently as it was free of any hold from the chaotic FTX company or any of its associates. Bitvo’s shareholder, Pateno Payments, has annulled this acquisition deal as the exchange company reaffirms that it is not in any way affected by the consequences that FTX left in the wake of its scandal.
The Canadian firm stated that it has no hand in the bankruptcy filing by FTX and has never owned, listed, or traded the company’s token (FTT) or “any similar token.” In the press release, Bitvo stated, “Since inception, Bitvo has operated as an independent,” this notice clarified that the company has nothing to do with FTX.
“Bitvo’s operations are expected to continue unaffected, with trading operations and withdrawals and deposits continuing seamlessly. Bitvo operates on a full reserve basis, meaning it does not lend customer funds.”
The plans of the once prosperous crypto exchange, FTX, to acquire Bitvo had gone awry after news of the company misappropriating customer funds for trading on its affiliate firm, Alameda, circled the internet. The CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has since stepped down from his position as the company’s value plummeted rapidly.
On November 14, Bitvo announced that its acquisition agreement deal with FTX was still in progress and wasn’t closed, saying that 80% of its assets are stored in cold storage, and its digital assets are being secured with independent third-party agents BitGo Trust Company and BitGo Inc.
Although the CEO of Binance once announced his plans to acquire FTX, he backed out of the deal after hearing the full details of SBF’s actions with his company and affiliate, Alameda.
Though Bitvo narrowly escaped being dragged down by FTX, the same cannot be said of other companies interacting with the crashed company.
Hearing the fallout of a company is not a new experience in the financial business world, as many companies are often liquidated, file for bankruptcy, and are involved in specific scandalous affairs that drag the brand image down from its highly respected position.
However, the news of the crash of FTX, a promising and seemingly efficient trading company, has weighed heavily on the crypto market as stocks have plummeted and companies have been deeply affected by its crash.
Companies That Suffered The Fall of FTX
- Liquid
An FTX-owned cryptocurrency exchange, Liquid, discontinued its crypto and fiat withdrawals on its platform, Liquid Global, due to FTX’s tragic incident. On November 15, an official report was released stating FTX acquired the Japanese crypto exchange and its affiliate entities in February 2022.
- Voyager Digital
The crypto lender Voyager Digital’s assets were acquired in September 2022 by FTX after it went bankrupt two months prior. However, as a victim caught in the ripple effect of FTX’s drama, the company announced on Twitter that it would be reorganizing its brand following the bankruptcy filing by FTX and its US affiliate, FTX US. Voyager Digital stated that customer votes would be terminated, and its sale would cease to progress.
What Is Bitvo?
Bitvo is a Canadian-based crypto asset trading platform specializing in purchasing and selling crypto assets via its mobile applications and website. The company boasts of never lending or using customer funds. Bitvo has a 1% withdrawal fee and zero-trade fees policy, ranking the company as a highly suitable platform for Canadian crypto enthusiasts to trade.
Conclusion
It is no surprise that many companies refuse to be associated with the crashed exchange FTX; Bitvo is the latest of the companies in the crypto industry to terminate its deal with the once-booming cryptocurrency exchange.
