A US judge overseeing the bankruptcy of FTX said Friday he would allow media corporations to intervene within the case so that they could argue that the collapsed crypto exchange must publicly disclose the names of its customers.
US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey said he would allow the Latest York Times, Dow Jones, Bloomberg and the Financial Times to intervene within the case but deferred arguments on requiring FTX to reveal customer names to a hearing on Jan. 11.
The media corporations argued that keeping customer names secret could turn bankruptcy proceedings right into a “farce” if creditors start fighting anonymously over how much money they need to receive, the media corporations wrote in a Delaware bankruptcy court filing.
FTX has argued that the standard US bankruptcy practice of revealing names, addresses and email addresses of creditors, which incorporates customers, could expose them to scams and will violate privacy laws for individuals who live in Europe.
The corporate has also said that disclosing identities of as many as 1 million customers would make it easier for a competitor to poach them, undermining the worth of FTX’s platform when it’s on the lookout for buyers.
The US Trustee, a part of the Department of Justice, has already objected to FTX’s request and argued that transparency helps protect against impropriety in bankruptcy cases.
FTX attorneys also told the hearing they’ve made “significant progress” on recovering assets and an attorney for a member of the newly formed creditors committee told the court the group will select a legal team to represent them next week.
Friday’s bankruptcy hearing comes at the top of a dramatic week for the crypto exchange. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on fraud charges on Monday, FTX CEO John Ray testified before Congress on Tuesday, and FTX opposed Bahamas-based liquidators’ demand for access to its systems and records on Wednesday.
A US judge overseeing the bankruptcy of FTX said Friday he would allow media corporations to intervene within the case so that they could argue that the collapsed crypto exchange must publicly disclose the names of its customers.
US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey said he would allow the Latest York Times, Dow Jones, Bloomberg and the Financial Times to intervene within the case but deferred arguments on requiring FTX to reveal customer names to a hearing on Jan. 11.
The media corporations argued that keeping customer names secret could turn bankruptcy proceedings right into a “farce” if creditors start fighting anonymously over how much money they need to receive, the media corporations wrote in a Delaware bankruptcy court filing.
FTX has argued that the standard US bankruptcy practice of revealing names, addresses and email addresses of creditors, which incorporates customers, could expose them to scams and will violate privacy laws for individuals who live in Europe.
The corporate has also said that disclosing identities of as many as 1 million customers would make it easier for a competitor to poach them, undermining the worth of FTX’s platform when it’s on the lookout for buyers.
The US Trustee, a part of the Department of Justice, has already objected to FTX’s request and argued that transparency helps protect against impropriety in bankruptcy cases.
FTX attorneys also told the hearing they’ve made “significant progress” on recovering assets and an attorney for a member of the newly formed creditors committee told the court the group will select a legal team to represent them next week.
Friday’s bankruptcy hearing comes at the top of a dramatic week for the crypto exchange. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on fraud charges on Monday, FTX CEO John Ray testified before Congress on Tuesday, and FTX opposed Bahamas-based liquidators’ demand for access to its systems and records on Wednesday.
