FOLLOW US

FTX customers might recuperate their money in Japan after the bankrupt crypto exchange's subsidiary in the country said it is working on unfreezing withdrawals.

If the plan works, it will mark a rare case of FTX crypto investors recovering funds locked on the platform since November 8, when the now-collapsed exchange began running into trouble.

FTX Japan said Thursday a plan to restart withdrawals had been approved by its new trading management team, but with added safeguards. 

"Development work for this plan has already started, and our engineering teams are working to allow FTX Japan users to withdraw their fund," it said in an announcement online.

"As part of the plan, we are incorporating controls, security audit, reconciliations, and reviews to put in place a robust and secure process," it added. 

The funds are set to be transferred to the Liquid platform — acquired by FTX Japan earlier this year — for the withdrawals to be carried out, sources close to the matter told Bloomberg. 

FTX users have been trying to withdraw their funds from the crypto exchange since it filed for bankruptcy on November 11. In court Tuesday, lawyers for the firm said they expect it to have millions of creditors, up from a previous estimate of 100,000.

US federal authorities are investigating FTX for potential mishandling of consumer funds after Bankman-Fried quietly transferred $10 billion of funds to FTX's sister trading arm Alameda Research. 

Bankman-Fried has defended himself against accusations of wrongdoing, putting FTX's problems down to a combination of accounting mistakes and a broader market crash.