FTX to ask court to allow asset sales and to shield customer identities

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is set to ask a U.S. bankruptcy court on Wednesday for permission to auction off pieces of its businesses and to keep customer names secret for at least six months while it seeks to recovery funds lost in what the Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged was a massive fraud. FTX will ask a judge in Delaware to approve a process for selling affiliates Embed, LedgerX, FTX Europe, and FTX Japan as it seeks to raise funds for customers, who have lost potentially billions of dollars, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing court documents. The four FTX affiliates are relatively independent from the parent, with each having segregated customers accounts and separate management teams, the filings said. It has not committed to selling any of the firms, but has received unsolicited offers, FTX said. The company expects that scheduling auctions in February or March would result in additional bids. The U.S. Trustee, a bankruptcy watchdog that is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, has opposed the unit sales before an extensive investigation into the extent of fraud allegedly perpetrated by ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried can be carried out. The company also requested to keep its customer names undisclosed for at least six months as it could expose them to scams and violate privacy laws, while at the same time adversely affect FTX's value as it searches for buyers, Reuters said. Media companies, such as the New York Times , and the U.S. Trustee object to keeping the names secret. On Tuesday, court documents showed that football star Tom Brady, his ex-wife Giselle Bünchen, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had invested in FTX and likely saw the value of their stakes wiped out.