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The Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Bitvo has terminated its expected acquisition agreement with FTX to continue operating independently.<\/p>\n
Bitvo\u2019s shareholder, Pateno Payments, has discontinued the acquisition deal with FTX Canada and FTX Trading in accordance with the agreement terms, Bitvo announced<\/a> on Nov. 15.<\/p>\n The firm emphasized that its operations have not been affected as Bitvo has no material exposure to FTX or any of its affiliated entities. Bitvo trading operations, including withdrawals and deposits, are intact.<\/p>\n Bitvo also stressed that it\u2019s not party to the bankruptcy proceedings entered into by FTX<\/a> and its affiliated entities. Bitvo has also never owned, listed or traded the FTX Token (FTT<\/a>) or \u201cany similar token,\u201d the announcement notes.<\/p>\n \u201cSince inception, Bitvo has operated as an independent, Canadian crypto asset trading platform,\u201d the company stated, adding that the platform has not been offering lending or borrowing services:<\/p>\n \u201cBitvo operates on a full reserve basis, meaning it does not lend customer funds. Bitvo has always chosen to operate in this fashion, and it is a requirement of Bitvo\u2019s regulatory status as a Restricted Dealer registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators […].\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX entered into an agreement<\/a> to purchase Bitvo in June 2022 as part of the company\u2019s expansion plans in Canada. But the plan went wrong as FTX became subject of a massive industry scandal, with the exchange misappropriating user funds<\/a> for trading on its sister firm Alameda.<\/p>\n On Nov. 14, Bitvo officially announced<\/a> that its acquisition by FTX was still a pending transaction that wasn\u2019t closed. \u201cDigital assets are held with independent third-parties BitGo Inc. and BitGo Trust Company, with over 80% of assets held in cold storage,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are happy the acquisition didn’t close, it would have been devastating to our staff, and just as importantly our customers,\u201d Bitvo CEO Pamela Draper told Cointelegraph. The process between the announcement of the deal in June involved working to satisfy the closing conditions, the most significant of which was regulatory approval, she added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Alberta Securities Commission is our principal regulator and Bitvo and FTX were working with them to obtain the required approvals,\u201d Draper said.<\/p>\n While Bitvo appears to have managed to back off the deal, there are some crypto companies that have been affected by the FTX crisis due to being acquired by the crypto mogul.<\/p>\n The FTX-owned crypto exchange Liquid suspended its fiat and crypto withdrawals<\/a> on its Liquid Global platform in connection with FTX\u2019s issues, according to an official statement released on Nov. 15. FTX acquired the Japanese exchange<\/a> and its affiliates in February 2022.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Bahamian liquidators reject validity of FTX\u2019s US bankruptcy filing<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital took to Twitter on Nov. 16 to update its clients on reorganization efforts following the Chapter 11 filing by FTX and FTX US, stating that customer vote will be canceled and the proposed sale will not move forward. Voyager went bankrupt<\/a> in July 2022, with FTX US acquiring its assets<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n FTX US Derivatives, another subsidiary of FTX US formerly known as LedgerX, continued to offer fully-collateralized swaps, futures and options on crypto, CEO Zach Dexter said<\/a> on Nov. 14. He also pointed out that LedgerX is not included in this bankruptcy filing by FTX. \u201cCustomer funds remain safe on the LedgerX LLC derivatives platform, which remains available 24\/7,\u201d Dexter noted in another tweet on Monday. As previously reported, FTX US acquired LedgerX<\/a> in an undisclosed deal in August 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n