The FTX bankruptcy estate has contested the recently announced sale of FTX EU to Backpack, the cryptocurrency exchange and wallet company founded by former FTX and Alameda employees.
The FTX estate said Backpack “has no involvement whatsoever in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court-approved process for the return of funds to any FTX customers and other creditors,” and that a news release about the sale by Backpack on Monday was issued without knowledge or involvement of FTX.
Backpack had announced plans to repay FTX EU creditors, as well as outline how it plans to operate a regulated crypto derivatives service using the licenses acquired in the sale.
“Backpack has not been authorized by FTX to make any distributions to any FTX customers or other creditors, including any former FTX EU customers,” the FTX bankruptcy estate said in its statement.
In March 2024, the FTX bankruptcy court approved the sale of FTX EU to Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke, the co-founders of Digital Assets, a company acquired by Sam Bankman Fried in 2021; Gruhn and Matzke continued to lead FTX’s expansion into Europe.
In an attempt to clarify the situation, Backpack said it bought FTX EU from Gruhn and Matzke, a transaction that has also been completed and reflected in official public records since June 2024, and which has been approved by CySec, Cyprus’ financial regulator.
“As a licensed entity, the transfer of the FTX EU entity was subject to regulatory approval by CySec. In December 2024, CySec approved Backpack’s purchase after lengthy due diligence. Following such approval, the FTX estate is required to transfer the shares as set forth in the court-approved sale and purchase agreement We look forward to the completion of the transfer so that we, like the FTX bankruptcy estate, can begin repaying customer funds to former FTX EU customers,” says Backpack in a statement issued Thursday.
FTX EU will be renamed Backpack EU, and Backpack EU will be solely responsible for reallocating former FTX EU client funds, Backpack said.
Former FTX EU chief Patrick Gruhn said that last May he initiated a change of control procedure for the FTX EU Ltd. subsidiary with CySEC, which is required to transfer the shares of the regulated investment company.
“In this very complex bankruptcy proceeding, I assume that FTX wanted to make it clear that FTX has no direct relationship with Backpack and will not distribute funds from the American bankruptcy estate. However, FTX EU will be renamed Backpack EU and will of course distribute the former FTX EU funds to customers,” Gruhn said via email.
