OKX Australia announced that they have hired Ex-FTX Country Manager Jamie Kennedy. With many investors still seeking answers from FTX due to an estimated 30,000 Australians that lost up to $80 million to FTX that collapsed in November 2022. The majority of these losses were incurred by retail investors who had invested through FTX.
In the lead up to the FTX Collapse Kennedy stated the following in a submission to Treasury dated May 29 – urged the government not to force crypto-trading platforms to safeguard their customers’ assets by using local or third-party firms to provide “custodianship”.
Sam Bankman-Fried was one of three directors of FTX Australia.
“We are strongly opposed to a move towards onshore custody or the mandating of a third-party custodian,” stated the submission, which was signed by then-FTX Australia director Jamie Kennedy.
“Larger more sophisticated groups such as FTX have invested significant sums in developing robust security practices which achieve the necessary levels of security while keeping custody of assets ‘in-house’.”
Custody refers to storage of the private keys that prove an owner has the rights to a particular crypto asset. It can also be provided by a range of digital asset specialist firms, increasingly big banks and financial institutions.
The collapse of FTX was a major blow to the Australian cryptocurrency market, and it has raised concerns about the safety of cryptocurrency exchanges. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has warned investors to be wary of cryptocurrency exchanges, and it has said that it is investigating the collapse of FTX.
ASIC has also said that it is working with other regulators around the world to investigate the collapse of FTX. The collapse of FTX is a reminder of the risks associated with cryptocurrency trading, and it is important for investors to do their research before investing in any cryptocurrency.
According to an article released by the Australian Financial Review, Kennedy was a director with Sam Bankman-Fried of the Australian entity at the time of the collapse ‘Mr Bankman-Fried was one of three directors of the FTX Australia subsidiary, along with Mr Kennedy and Xiao Chen. Insolvency firm KordaMentha was appointed administrator to the local business one day before its parent company filed for bankruptcy.’
The Australian Crypto Convention recently announced that OKX Australia would be the ‘Naming Rights Sponsor’ for their upcoming event in Melbourne.
OKX was launched by Star Xu in 2017 and is headquartered in Seychelles.
OKX is a global cryptocurrency spot and derivatives exchange. It was founded by Star Xu in 2017. OKX is owned by OK Group, which also owns crypto exchange Okcoin. It is not currently available to US-based investors. The company’s CEO is Star Xu and its CMO is Haider Rafique.
OKX is a platform where investors can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. It currently operates in global markets including Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, The Bahamas, and France.
