FTX Woes Continue As SoftBank Writes Off $100-Million Investment In Bankrupt Firm

SoftBank has a history of pouring money into bad startups, like the $18.5 billion investment in WeWork.

SoftBank has now disclosed a $100 million venture capital investment in crypto broker FTX. ( Image Source :Getty )

San Francisco: Beleaguered Japanese investment firm SoftBank has reportedly written off about $100 million it invested as part of its Vision Fund 2 in now bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. According to MarketWatch, the investment is now marked down to zero with SoftBank saying "it would not face a material markdown in the value of its stake". SoftBank had backed FTX after the startup raised $400 million in January, valuing it at $32 billion.

SoftBank has now disclosed a $100 million venture capital investment in crypto broker FTX.

Softbank CFO Yoshimitsu Goto was quoted as saying that the $100-million Vision Fund invested in FTX "as a minor stake in the company".

"If any case of markdown but still that is very not material for us," Goto said during the company's second quarter (Q2) results.

SoftBank has a history of pouring money in bad startups, like the $18.5 billion investment in WeWork.

The Japanese VC firm also infused $500 million into digital mortgage lender better.com which laid off thousands of employees under its Indian-origin Co-founder and CEO Vishal Garg.

Crypto exchange FTX has admitted that "unauthorised transactions" have drained hundreds of millions of dollars from its wallets, saying the company has moved many digital assets to a new "cold wallet custodian".

FTX, which last week filed for bankruptcy in the US, did not reveal how much it lost in unauthorised transactions but reports claimed the amount could be as high as $600 million.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)

Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.