Caribbean

FTX liquidators report exchange held $2.4M ‘fleet of vehicles’ in the Bahamas

The liquidators said they would “commence disposals” of certain FTX Digital physical assets following approval from the Bahamas’ supreme court.

The joint provisional liquidators of FTX Digital Markets — the firm’s subsidiary in the Bahamas — has released a report on the company’s physical assets in the island nation.

According to affidavit filed by a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner with the Bahamas’ supreme court on Feb. 8, FTX’s joint provisional liquidators, or JPLs, said the company had purchased 52 properties in the Bahamas, including units “in the name of individual employees or relatives of SBF, despite FTX Digital providing the funding”. These properties, which included housing for FTX employees and commercial office space, were worth roughly $255 million and purchased by an FTX subsidiary.

The JPLs also identified “a fleet of vehicles” FTX’s employees had used around the island worth roughly $2.4 million, $500,000 worth of office furniture and computer equipment, and 13 leased storage units whose contents still need to be assessed. The liquidators said they would “commence disposals” following approval from the Bahamas’ supreme court.

It’s unclear where many individuals still employed at FTX amid bankruptcy proceedings were working. FTX CEO John Ray said in bankruptcy court on Feb. 6 that the company no longer had physical offices and was instead operating in the metaverse — though this may have been referring to FTX’s headquarters rather than local subsidiaries.

According to the JPL report:

“Most employees were no longer reporting to the FTX Digital office in The Bahamas for work. Many key employees of FTX Digital were expatriates who had moved to The Bahamas on employment visas, and it was subsequently learnt that many had physically left The Bahamas around the time of the appointment.”

The report followed the FTX debtors announcing on Jan. 6 they had reached an agreement with FTX Digital aimed at liquidating or disposing of assets tied to the Bahamas’ subsidiary. The Bahamas’ supreme court ordered all FTX Digital digital assets transferred to a wallet controlled by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas on Nov. 12 — one day after FTX filed for bankruptcy in the United States.

Bankruptcy proceedings for FTX are underway in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The judge in the case ruled on Feb. 8 that the FTX debtors were authorized to issue subpoenas to certain individuals including Bankman-Fried and his immediate family.

FTX liquidators report exchange held $2.4M ‘fleet of vehicles’ in the Bahamas

The liquidators said they would “commence disposals” of certain FTX Digital physical assets following approval from the Bahamas’ supreme court.

The joint provisional liquidators of FTX Digital Markets — the firm’s subsidiary in the Bahamas — have released a report on the company’s physical assets in the island nation.

According to an affidavit filed by a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner with the Bahamas’ supreme court on Feb. 8, FTX’s joint provisional liquidators, or JPLs, said the company had purchased 52 properties in the Bahamas, including units “in the name of individual employees or relatives of Sam Bankman-Fried, despite FTX Digital providing the funding.” These properties, which included housing for FTX employees and commercial office space, were worth roughly $255 million and purchased by an FTX subsidiary.

The JPLs also identified “a fleet of vehicles” FTX’s employees had used around the island worth roughly $2.4 million, $500,000 worth of office furniture and computer equipment and 13 leased storage units whose contents still need to be assessed. The liquidators said they would “commence disposals” following approval from the Bahamas’ supreme court.

According to the JPL report:

“Most employees were no longer reporting to the FTX Digital office in the Bahamas for work. Many key employees of FTX Digital were expatriates who had moved to the Bahamas on employment visas, and it was subsequently learnt that many had physically left the Bahamas around the time of the appointment.”

Caribbean nation St. Kitts and Nevis may adopt Bitcoin Cash as legal tender by March 2023

The country’s prime minister says it is considering introducing Bitcoin Cash on a legal basis, despite being within the territory of the pioneering CBDC DCash.

The Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis may declare Bitcoin Cash (BCH) legal tender by March 2023. Prime Minister Terrance Drew made that announcement while he spoke at the Bitcoin Cash 2022 conference in St. Kitts on Nov. 12.

St. Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and part of the ECCB’s DCash central bank digital currency (CBDC) program, which was launched in March 2019. “Our nation has always been a forward-thinking nation and a leader in exploring new technologies that can advance our people,” Drew said, but he added:

“I can confirm that we are prepared to explore that possibility with the guidance of experts and professionals and after consultation with our regional banking system. […] I welcome the opportunity to dialog further with a view to exploring future opportunities to engage in Bitcoin Cash mining and making Bitcoin Cash legal tender here in St. Kitts and Nevis by March 2023, once safeguards to our country and our people are guaranteed.”

Bitcoin Cash was created from Bitcoin (BTC) in a 2017 fork. The DCash program has had technical problems that have impeded adoption. Besides introducing new competition to DCash, the Caribbean nation may be eyeing its replacement. Sint Maarten Member of Parliament Rolando Brison spoke after Drew and expressed his support for Bitcoin Cash and his opposition to a CBDC.

Brison opposed CBDC as “too much of a danger to consider.” He said:

“I love the fact that in our jurisdiction, the central bank has at least been open enough to say and admit, ‘We don’t have the capability to monitor and engage and promote and safeguard something like this.’ […] If they can’t properly regulate the banking sector, […] why would I give them now a huge mandate to do something that they have no idea about? […] The legislator should be the one to have a say on what happens in regulation.”

The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis just announced that #BitcoinCash will become legal tender in his country by March 2023. A big step for BCH as no nation can outlaw the currencies of other nations. Mass utilization with amazing new apps is next. pic.twitter.com/WjnaZxGv50

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) November 13, 2022

Huobi Global reportedly plans relocation to the Caribbean

The company may relocate up to 200 employees from Seychelles to one of the Caribbean jurisdictions.

Chinese crypto exchange Huobi, which recently has had to disavow the rumors about massive layoffs inside the company, unveiled the plans to move its headquarters to one of the jurisdictions in the Caribbean, with the Dominican Republic being the first candidate.

In the report from Nov. 1, citing one of the board members, the FT revealed the company’s intention “to go all in in the Caribbean.” The reason is the region’s “super-friendly” crypto stance, common law systems and English language adoption. Among Dominica, the “frontrunners” among the local nations to host Huobi are Panama and the Bahamas.

Huobi representative already met Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit last year, and the company would collaborate with the country’s government to enhance its crypto infrastructure.

Currently, the headquarters of Huobi is at the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean, with the exchange having offices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and the United States. According to FT, the company plans to move up to 200 employees out of 1,600 to the new HQ.

The Caribbean became a hot spot for the crypto industry, especially with the United States-founded exchange FTX moving from Hong Kong to the Bahamas in 2021. Among other companies to register in local jurisdictions are Binance, C-Trade and PrimeBit.

In October, About Capital Management (HK) Co. Ltd, a Hong Kong based-asset management firm, became Huobi Global’s controlling shareholder following a successful buyout deal.

Later that month, citing “people familiar” with Huobi, Chinese crypto blogger Colin Wu reported that in the aftermath of the takeover, two top executives resigned from the company, and it was preparing to trim its 1,600-employee staff. Huobi’s spokesperson refuted the rumors about mass layoffs and remarked that the company “enjoys a healthy cash flow.” However, he admitted that due to the crypto market downturn, some cost-cutting could still be on the cards though it didn’t clarify what this could entail.