FTX US Says Trading May Be Halted

FTX US, the U.S.-based subsidiary of insolvent crypto exchange FTX, warned traders of a potential trading halt in the next few days. 

An announcement posted on the company’s website on Nov. 10 stated that trading “may be halted on FTX US in a few days” and advised users to close down any open positions accordingly. 

“Withdrawals will remain open. We will give updates as we have them,” stated the announcement.

The announcement comes only a few hours after FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted that FTX US was not financially impacted by recent events and the exchange was 100% liquid.

Some users are not completely convinced that all is well on the FTX US front, with the exchange now offering significantly higher lending rates on assets. 

Michal Mcquaid, growth partner at Bloq, tweeted a screenshot on Thursday that showed FTX US offering 120% APY on stablecoins.

“You know who else pays this much? Scammers doing criminal activities,” tweeted one user in response.

FTX US operates as a separate legal entity to the offshore FTX that is currently seeking a $9.4 billion bailout from investors, as per a Reuters report on Thursday. However, the continuity of the U.S.-based exchange’s operations is still very much in question given its ties to FTX and the subsequent damage to its reputation.

Many of the 75 employees at FTX US receive half their compensation as company equity, so a mass exodus of staff would not be unlikely in a scenario where the company’s value declines significantly. The company, which is also headed by Sam Bankman-Fried, raised $400 million at an $8 billion valuation in January.