- A potential FTX buyer has been identified
- Tribe Capital met with an FTX creditor committee in January to discuss a possible sale
- Tribe hopes to raise $250 million to procure the name and infrastructure
American venture capital firm Tribe Capital is considering a $250 million investment to reboot FTX, a week after one of the exchange’s attorneys said that a revival was being considered. Bloomberg reported yesterday that Arjun Sethi, the co-founder of Tribe, held discussions with FTX’s committee of unsecured creditors in January regarding an informal proposal, citing insiders who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the talks. Tribe is contemplating spearheading a $250 million fundraising drive, with $100 million coming from itself and its limited partners.
FTX Revival Gathers Pace
The prospect of reviving FTX has been in the works ever since current CEO John Ray III mentioned that the infrastructure that made the exchange so popular could either be sold or used to resuscitate the platform. FTX attorney Andy Dietderich stated in court last week that the attention of the current leadership team had begun to focus on the future of the exchange, and it seems that things are a little further along than was realized at the time.
Tribe, which was established in 2018, invested in both FTX, the international exchange, and its American counterpart, FTX US. The San Francisco-based firm manages over $1.6 billion and invests in various startups, including Kraken, a cryptocurrency platform, Bolt, a payment company, and Shiprocket, an e-commerce vendor.
Recovered Funds Won’t be Used
As part of its proposal in January, Tribe suggested including an estimated 9 million customer accounts from FTX US, FTX Australia, FTX Japan, FTX EU, FTX International, and LedgerX, while excluding venture capital portfolios and crypto assets, among other things, according to insiders. The proposed exchange would continue to operate under the FTX name.
Dietderich stated last week that it was not known whether some of the $7.3 billion that FTX had recovered would go towards the rebirth of the exchange, and creditors will be pleased to hear that Tribe will bring its own money to the project.
