According to people familiar with the matter, FTX founder and Democrat super donor Sam Bankman-Fried still believes that he can raise enough money to make users whole, even though the cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy last week.
The Wall Street Journal reports that FTX founder and chairman Sam Bankman-Fried has been making phone calls over the last few days seeking to raise up to $8 billion in fresh capital to repay FTX’s investors.
It appears that so far Bankman-Fried has been unable to raise the cash to cover the shortfall. The WSJ was unable to determine if Bankman-Fried is offering anything in return for a cash infusion or whether other investors have committed.
FTX filed for bankruptcy Friday shortly after Bankman-Fried reassured customers that the firm was “fine.” The move came as a shock to those who had hoped they would be able to recover some of their lost assets in order from the exchange.
Companies facing bankruptcy often receive loans to keep operations going. The first funds that these companies earn after emerging from protection go towards paying off this debt, which makes it less likely for them to try to raise fresh equity capital early on during the process since debtholders hold priority over any remaining assets.
Even if Bankman-Fried could raise the necessary funds to solve the company’s liquidity issue, he would most likely be forced to negotiate with creditors to receive approval from bankruptcy court officials. In the case of FTX, any funds raised are not designed to sustain company staff but to repay traders and institutional clients who have been unable to withdraw funds.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan