FTX owes $3.1 billion to creditors

Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Embroiled cryptocurrency exchange FTX owes an estimated $3.1 billion to its 50 biggest creditors.

The company, founded by one-time crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, is seeking bankruptcy protection after a rapid collapse in value. Recent court filings expose how severely dire its financial situation is. The exchange owes $1.45 billion to its 10 largest creditors alone. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO of FTX a week ago.

FTX has an estimated 1 million customers who at one point earlier this month were unable to access withdrawals from the platform. On Saturday, the company released a statement saying along with 101 affiliated companies it will undergo a "strategic review of their global assets to begin to maximize recoverable value for stakeholders."

FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Prior to the filing, Bankman-Fried was seeking a buyout from competitor Binance. Binance pulled out of the deal to acquire after discovering "mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations."

"I have instructed the team at the FTX Debtors to prioritize the preservation of franchise value as best we can in these difficult circumstances," said new CEO John J. Ray III. "I respectfully ask all of our employees, vendors, customers, regulators and government stakeholders to be patient with us as we put in place the arrangements that corporate governance failures at FTX prevented us from putting in place prior to filing our chapter 11 cases."

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas and Royal Bahamas Police Force are investigating the exchange for any instances of criminal misconduct. FTX is based in the Bahamas.