Collapsed crypto exchange FTX to resume salary payments

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of FTX is seen on a flag at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

(Reuters) -Crypto exchange FTX and its affiliated companies, which have filed for U.S. bankruptcy court protection, said on Monday most subsidiaries would resume ordinary course payment of salary and benefits to employees worldwide.

The relief includes cash payments with respect to both pre-petition and post-petition periods, subject to limits established by the orders of the Bankruptcy Court.

“With the Court’s approval of our First Day motions and the work being done on global cash management, I am pleased that the FTX group is resuming ordinary course cash payments of salaries and benefits to our remaining employees around the world,” Chief Executive John Ray said in a statement.

Last week, at the troubled crypto exchange’s first bankruptcy hearing attorneys said FTX was run as a “personal fiefdom” of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and detailed on going challenges such as hacks and substantial missing assets.

FTX on Nov. 11 filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection, along with its U.S. unit, crypto trading firm Alameda Research and nearly 130 other affiliates.

The collapse has fanned fears about the future of the crypto industry and several crypto firms have since been bracing for a fallout.

Earlier on Monday, BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after the crypto lender was hurt by exposure to FTX.