To those in crypto circles, FTX Japan remains something of a riddle. It is a company name that makes some people laugh and others furious. It makes some people talk, and others clam up.
In the months following the highly public downfall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, the future of the Japanese entity remains up in the air. Monex Group has expressed interest in buying FTX Japan, but customers are still anxiously waiting to learn the fate of their funds, which the company has said are on track to be returned next month.
Liquid, then a local crypto exchange operated by the company Quoine, was amalgamated into the FTX empire in April 2022 while it was still reeling from a hack that claimed more than $90 million in crypto assets and took place the preceding year. FTX bailed the company out with a $120 million emergency loan, before taking it over as a means of breaking into the Japan market, inheriting the company’s all-important official license.