The dream of a revived FTX exchange evaporates, triggering a massive sell-off of its native token, FTT. According to Kaiko, on February 5, FTT, the now utility-free currency of the defunct exchange, plummeted over 30% last week, erasing much of its recent gains fueled by speculation of an FTX comeback.
FTX Won’t Resume Operations
The worrying drop follows reports that the bankrupt exchange, once led by Sam Bankman-Fried, is unlikely to resume operations. Notably, the news comes despite a glimmer of hope for FTX customers.
At a recent court hearing, the exchange’s representatives claimed it expects to repay its users fully. However, repayments would be based on the worth of their assets during FTX’s bankruptcy.
It should be noted that by the time FTX went bankrupt in late 2022, crypto assets were at the last phase of a bear market, with prices plunging to multi-month lows. Bitcoin, the world’s largest crypto asset, was trading below $20,000. After FTX collapsed, prices crashed below $16,000 before bouncing back strongly.
Following a court hearing in late January, FTX lawyer Andrew Dietderich, in a now-deleted YouTube video, said the exchange wouldn’t be looking to relaunch due to the absence of buyers. For this reason, the exchange is looking at allowing creditors to obtain approvals from investors seeking repayments.
Claimants impacted, given the new conditions and trajectory the exchange plans to take, have to provide sufficient proof that they held assets in FTX before it collapsed.
This new detail raises concerns for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of claimants, who argue that the actual value of their assets lies at the pre-crash level. On average, Bitcoin and top coins were roughly double digits higher than the November 2022 lows.
FTT Is Free Falling, Reverses November Gains
For the better part of 2023, FTT prices recovered steadily. To demonstrate, since November 2023, FTT prices have risen by over 300%. The encouraging surge was fueled solely by the possibility of FTX 2.0 launching and implementing a new management model.
With that hope fading, FTT appears to be facing a harsh reality check. Questions about its utility are being asked since FTT served as a critical cog in the FTX ecosystem when the exchange operated normally.
When writing on February 5, FTT changes hands at around $1.7. Looking at price charts, bears are in control, completely reversing the gains of November 2023. As it is, $0.95 remains to be a key support line.
Feature image from iStock, chart from TradingView
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