Bankrupt FTX could be revived with $250m investment led by Tribe Capital

Venture firm Tribe Capital is reportedly contemplating a significant capital injection to help resurrect FTX, the bankrupt crypto exchange.

The company is considering leading a $250 million fundraising campaign, anchored by $100 million from itself and its limited partners, as it explores options to reboot or sell the FTX exchanges and create value for creditors.

FTX may rise again

Tribe Capital, a venture firm that previously invested in FTX, is reportedly considering a new capital injection to help resurrect the crypto exchange, which filed for bankruptcy in November.

Tribe co-founder Arjun Sethi met with FTX’s committee of unsecured creditors in January to discuss an informal proposal, according to anonymous sources. Tribe is said to be contemplating leading a $250 million fundraising campaign, with $100 million from itself and its limited partners.

Founded in 2018, Tribe was an investor in both FTX’s international and U.S.-based entities. With over $1.6 billion under management, the San Francisco-based firm invests in various startups, including crypto platform Kraken, payments firm Bolt, and e-commerce vendor Shiprocket.

FTX, once a thriving digital-asset empire, fell into bankruptcy, leaving creditors with at least $11.6 billion of claims and shaking the entire market. Sam Bankman-Fried, the exchange’s founder, is awaiting trial in October on charges of fraud and campaign-finance law violations.

John J. Ray III, FTX’s new CEO, is expected to decide in the second quarter whether a restart is feasible. FTX attorney Andrew G. Dietderich stated that the company is still in the early stages of evaluating the idea and that a restart would require a significant cash infusion, potentially from third-party investors.

Tribe’s January proposal included approximately 9 million customer accounts and various FTX entities, while excluding assets like the venture capital portfolio and certain crypto assets. The new exchange would continue using the FTX name.

The possibility of reviving FTX is confronted with considerable regulatory and compliance obstacles, and the timeframe for this endeavor is yet to be determined.

The FTX creditors’ committee shared on Twitter that they are collaborating with the debtors to explore all alternatives for restarting or selling the FTX exchanges to generate value for creditors, encouraging parties interested in the process to reach out to both the debtors and the committee.

FTX’s exchange token FTT experienced a 17% increase in response to the news of Tribe Capital’s potential involvement in the exchange’s revival.