Canadian-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitvo has terminated its anticipated acquisition agreement with FTX.
According to an announcement made by Bitvo on November 15, Bitvo shareholder Pateno Payments has conditionally terminated its acquisition agreement with FTX Canada and FTX Trading.
The company stated that Bitvo’s operations are not affected as it does not have a financial risk against FTX or any of its affiliates. According to the statements made, Bitvo’s trading operations, including withdrawals and deposits, were unharmed.
Bitvo also announced that FTX and its related companies do not take sides in the bankruptcy filing proceedings. According to the announcement, Bitvo has not previously owned and listed FTX Token (FTT) or a similar token on its platform.
“As a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, Bitvo has been operating independently from the very beginning,” the company explained. Bitvo added that the platform does not offer lending or borrowing services, and made the following statements:
“Bitvo operates strictly on reserve principles. This means that the exchange’s clients are not using the funds to lend. Bitvo has always preferred to work with this principle. On the other hand, this is a requirement of Bitvo’s regulatory status as a Limited Reseller registered to the Canadian Securities Managers. […]”
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the bankrupt FTX exchange entered into an agreement to acquire Bitvo in June 2022 as part of the company’s expansion plans in Canada. However, this plan fell through with the collapse of FTX.
Bitvo officially announced on November 14 that the acquisition of the company by FTX is still an unfinished pending transaction. The company states, “Digital assets are owned by independent third parties BitGo Inc. and BitGo Trust Company, and more than 80 percent are kept in cold storage.”
Bitvo CEO Pamela Draper said in an interview with Cointelegraph, “We are delighted that the acquisition has not been fully completed. If the purchase had been completed, it would have been a disaster for our staff and customers.”
Draper said, “The Alberta Securities Commission is our main regulator. “Bitvo and FTX were working with them to get the necessary approvals.”
Although Bitvo survived the acquisition at the last minute, some crypto companies were not spared from being acquired by FTX.
According to an official statement released on November 15, FTX-owned crypto exchange Liquid has suspended fiat and crypto withdrawals on the Liquid Global platform in connection with the issues occurring in FTX. In addition, FTX acquired the Japan-based Liquid exchange and its related entities last February.
Recently bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital was awaiting acquisition by FTX. The company shared a post on Twitter on November 16, announcing that the sale, which will take place after FTX and FTX US filed for bankruptcy under Article 11, will not continue.
LedgerX CEO Zack Dexter said on Nov. 14 that FTX US Derivatives, another subsidiary of FTX US, formerly known as LedgerX, continues to offer fully collateralized swaps, futures and options on crypto. Dexter also underlined that FTX’s bankruptcy filing does not cover LedgerX. “Customers’ funds are securely held on the LedgerX LLC futures platform and are available 24/7,” Dexter said in a Twitter post last Monday. As previously reported, FTX US had acquired LedgerX in an undisclosed deal in August 2021.