FTX execs find over $1B in assets, but a lot more yet to be unfolded

FTX's ( FTT-USD ) new management, which took control when the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO last month, have reportedly identified more than $1B in assets as they struggle to unwind the firm due to poor records and bookkeeping. In a procedural hearing Tuesday, FTX executives told its creditors that they discovered about $720M in unconsolidated cash assets in certain U.S. financial institutions, CoinDesk reported, adding that U.S. institutions are holding another near $500M. “We are reaching out to all of those banks and changing the signatories on the accounts so that we can get access to the accounts and move the cash as much as we can to authorized depository institutions,” said Mary Cilia, FTX's new CFO, as quoted by CoinDesk. Cilia said FTX also located around $130M of cash locked up in Japan. And another $6M is being kept for operational expenses. Overall, though, there's a lot of unknowns about FTX's structure given its weak governance and poor record keeping before it filed for bankruptcy on November 11. The new FTX CEO, John J. Ray III, told the U.S. House Financial Services Committee last week that his team has so far secured over $1B in digital assets , though that represents a small fraction of what the company owes its creditors. The restructuring expert and his team will continue to "follow the money" until they can secure as much assets as possible to pay back customers. Previously, (Dec. 12) new FTX CEO blasts Bankman-Fried's leadership of crypto firm in House hearing .