Several conventional media outlets seek to uncover the personal information of non-U.S. customers of the cryptocurrency FTX exchange, similar to the events that took place during the Celsius bankruptcy case, as stated by our sources.
In an official filing on April 4th with the Delaware Bankruptcy Bloomberg Court, The New York Times, The Financial Times, and parent company Dow Jones & Company collectively objected to withholding FTX customers’ identities. According to their argument, the public and the press hold a “presumptive right” to access bankruptcy filings. FTX and its clients, in the view of media organizations, have not given a satisfactory reason for withholding the identities of non-U.S. customers. However, FTX debtors are permitted to request the removal of creditors’ names from bankruptcy filings but the media outlets argue that the company and its consumers have not justified such secrecy.
The Ad Hoc Committee of Non-US Customers at FTX contended that disclosing non-U.S. customers’ names and confidential information could put them at risk of identity theft, targeted attacks, and other forms of harm.
However, the media outlets argued that if the “permanent sealing” of FTX’s non-U.S. users’ names was allowed, it would become routine practice in virtually every bankruptcy proceeding.
Media organizations assert that granting access to the public is crucial in this case, given that the collapse of FTX has sparked significant public curiosity about how the U.S. legal system handles the rapidly growing and mostly unregulated cryptocurrency industry.
FTX customers’ names and addresses were allowed to be redacted for an additional three months on January 11th, following the Ad Hoc Committee’s filing on December 28th. Judge John Dorsey, despite being hesitant, authorized the redaction, stating that he did not want to divulge confidential information that could jeopardize creditors’ security.
Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending platform, attempted to obtain redaction of its clients’ names in its bankruptcy case, but did not persuade the judge. Consequently, many customers’ personal information was disclosed on October 5th, 2022.
The hearing on this matter is scheduled for April 12th at 1:00 pm Eastern Time.
