CoinShares Confirms $30.3 Million Exposure to FTX

By Kate Irwin

Crypto investment and trading group CoinShares has announced it was exposed to the cratering crypto exchange FTX to the tune of roughly $30.3 million.

CoinShares said in a statement Thursday that it has 190 Bitcoin and 1,000 Ethereum locked up in FTX, worth about $4.3 million in total. The firm said it requested to pull those funds from the exchange before FTX announced it was halting withdrawals, but that those transactions are still pending.

CoinShares also has an additional $25.9 million of USD and USDC stuck on FTX, as well as about $110,000 worth of other assets, according to the release.

CoinShares said the losses indicate a “limited exposure,” and the firm says it is still in a state of “robust financial health.”

“The Group has no exposure to FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research,” CoinShares said on Twitter, adding that “XBT Provider and CoinShares Physical ETPs remain fully hedged and collateralized.”

This means CoinShares is confirming its Exchange Traded Products are not at risk at this time. 

CoinShares CEO Jean Marie Mognetti said the firm chose to disclose its exposure because of the “high level of public scrutiny” surrounding FTX.

“In the spirit of transparency, we have decided to disclose our current exposure to FTX. Thanks to our prudent approach to risk, we had materially reduced our exposure to FTX exchange in response to increased volatility and uncertainty, ahead of FTX’s decision to freeze further withdrawals,” Mognetti said in a statement.

“The financial health of the Group remains strong. As recently announced in the Group’s recent earnings results, CoinShares’ net asset value as at 30 September 2022 stood at £240.6M,” Mognetti added.

Mognetti said that the firm’s net asset value as of the end of September was roughly $279.8 million. Subtracting CoinShares’ exposure of $30.3 million, would, in theory, bring the group’s value down to about $249.5 million.

While it may not be apocalyptic, that’s still a notable chunk out of the group’s total assets. Based on the numbers provided, about 10.8% of CoinShares’ assets are currently trapped in FTX custody. 

CoinShares did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

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