The battle for ownership of FTX EU now pits Backpack Exchange against the former FTX empire's successors. This legal showdown involves millions of euros and the fate of thousands of clients in the crypto industry.
Written by Ariela - Last updated on 01/14/2025 at 13:09 by Ariela
Since the dramatic collapse of FTX in November 2022, the former crypto giant’s succession has been embroiled in numerous legal disputes. One of these disputes involves the European subsidiary FTX EU, now at the center of a real battle between Backpack Exchange and the FTX administrators.
Backpack Exchange, a centralized cryptocurrency platform, claimed to have acquired FTX EU in June 2024, after receiving regulatory approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in the previous December.
However, the FTX succession vehemently disputes this claim. According to the bankruptcy administrators, the shares of FTX EU remain under the control of FTX Europe AG, an FTX subsidiary. They assert that the previously announced transfer of shares to FTX EU’s co-founders, Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke, has not yet taken place.
“As of today, 100% of the share capital of FTX EU is held by FTX Europe AG, an FTX subsidiary,” the succession stated in a release. This situation raises many questions and leaves FTX EU clients uncertain about the recovery of their funds.
Another point of contention between Backpack Exchange and the FTX succession revolves around the responsibility for reimbursing FTX EU clients.
Backpack claimed it would handle the distribution of funds to former FTX EU clients and rebrand the entity as Backpack EU. However, the FTX succession disputes this claim, stating that Backpack has not been authorized to manage creditor reimbursements.
“Today, the FTX succession is not responsible for the funds (in euros, to be specific) owed by FTX EU to its former clients. This process will be entirely handled by Backpack EU,” said Armani Ferrante, CEO of Backpack, on X.
The battle for control of FTX EU underscores the complexity of the disputes surrounding FTX’s collapse. Beyond the billions of euros at stake, the fate of millions of clients is now hanging on the outcome of this legal showdown between Backpack Exchange and the former crypto giant’s succession.
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Ariela is one of the main editors of the news shared daily on InvestX. With 8 years of experience in writing, she writes articles on the topics that mark the crypto market each day.
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