Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried now faces 13 charges related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency empire. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The names of customers who used the now-collapsed cryptocurrency FTX Exchange can remain secret forever, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled on Friday.
Several media outlets – which had argued that there was a “compelling and legitimate interest” in the names – and the US bankruptcy trustee had challenged FTX’s request not to make the customers’ names publicly available.
Judge John Dorsey ruled that the identity of FTX customers was a “trade secret.”
“Customers are the most important issue here,” Dorsey said. “I want to make sure they’re protected and don’t fall victim to any scams that might be happening out there.”
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FTX filed for bankruptcy in November. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File/AP Newsroom)
Dorsey said customers could have their personal information stolen by scammers searching the “dark web” if their identities were revealed.
Brian Glueckstein, representing FTX, also argued that “the debtors are able to extract value from these customer lists,” adding that the customer list is a valuable asset to the company.
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However, Dorsey said the names of creditors or shareholders from the UK and European Union (who fall under a consumer protection scheme called the General Data Protection Regulation) could be released and said there was no evidence they would be harmed by disclosure would.
This illustrative photo shows a smartphone screen with the logo of FTX, a former cryptocurrency exchange platform. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images, File/Getty Images)
Kate Townsend, representing the media, had argued that last year’s collapse of FTX “sent shockwaves through not just the cryptocurrency industry, but the entire financial industry.” which institutions are individually and institutionally most affected and which institutions may be most, or not at all, endangered.”
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Dorsey had ruled in January that FTX could remove customer information from court files for 90 days.
FTX filed for bankruptcy last November and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged by federal prosecutors with misleading FTX investors and lenders and stealing billions of dollars in customer funds.
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He has pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges and remains under house arrest on $250 million bail pending his scheduled trial in October at his parents’ home in California.
Breck Dumas and Landon Mion of Fox Business and Associated Press contributed to this report.