Trouble in the Bahamas following FTX collapse: Report
Following the collapse of crypto trade FTX, which was headquartered within the island nation of Bahamas, Bahamians are reportedly nonetheless looking for a method to make sense of all the things, whereas remaining optimistic in regards to the future.
In response to a report by the Wall Avenue Journal, the island nation — which had encouraged cryptocurrency firms to really feel at dwelling with their “copacetic regulatory contact” — has been rocked by the implosion of FTX.
The Bahamas, which was additionally onerous hit by Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and the pandemic shortly afterward in 2020, was already struggling to search out methods to strengthen its financial system which depends closely on tourism and offshore banking for a bulk of its GDP. It appeared that the prime minister of the Bahamas, Philip Davis, and his authorities believed crypto may play a crucial function within the island’s financial restoration.
Now, the group means that FTX’s sudden implosion has left a path of unemployment on the tiny 80-square-mile New Windfall Island, the place FTX was situated. Whereas performing at full capability, FTX supplied employment for locals, because it reportedly spent over “$100,000 every week on catering” and in addition arrange a non-public shuttle service to move staff across the island. FTX additionally employed numerous native Bahamians in areas similar to logistics, occasions planning, and regulatory compliance, in line with the WSJ.
With the collapse of FTX, many high-spending foreigners who labored for the corporate and as soon as boosted the native financial system have reportedly fled the island, leaving Bahamian safety guards to now guard “practically vacant buildings.”
Associated: SBF, FTX execs reportedly spend hundreds of thousands on properties within the Bahamas
Within the aftermath of the autumn of FTX, some crypto group members have mentioned they really feel no sympathy for the consequences of the collapse on the tiny island nation.
Hacker Information consumer Matkoniecz commented, “Provided that Bahamas assist wealthy folks and corporations to evade taxes, my sympathy to detrimental penalties of which are restricted.”
In the meantime, Exendroinient00 shared, “Nothing mistaken with inviting each scammer to do scamming in your islands,” doubtless in reference to the island’s legal guidelines that appear to incentivize offshore banking actions.
On Oct. 18, Cointelegraph reported that the Bahamas‘ securities regulator ordered the switch of FTX’s digital belongings to a pockets owned by the fee “for safekeeping.”
In response to a press release from the Royal Bahamas Police Drive sent to Reuters on Nov 13, an investigation into attainable prison misconduct over the insolvency of FTX is underway by monetary investigators and Bahamian securities regulators.
