Fall 2021 started with good news for the Bahamas. Great news. Thanks in large part to its legal framework, giant crypto exchange FTX has decided to relocate its headquarters from Hong Kong to the small Caribbean country. The key point of Sam Bankman-Fried, who was accepted as the founder of the company and whose prestige increased, was the opportunities offered by the country to the sector. “It was one of the first countries to implement comprehensive regulation for cryptocurrencies,” the businessman said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Champagne and roses.
That same November, bitcoin surpassed $66,000 and this relationship between the Bahamas and the FTX exchange seemed very happy; It wasn’t long before, when Bitcoin was still around 40,000 and Three Arrows Capital hadn’t collapsed yet, FTX boasted of its plans to set up a headquarters in Nassau, the Bahamas capital, with an investment of around $60 million. Prime Minister Philip Davis called it a complete success and went even further: This is the new cryptographic complex, he assured, “It rivals the Google campus”.
Months later, the balance is very different.
“Positive Traces”
FTX was forced into bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO amid a heavy media whirlwind, and he millionaire headquarters Nassau – detailed media such as luck anyone The Wall Street Gazette– seems stuck with good words and big dreams, reduced to little more than a vacant lot with a few billboards.
“Nothing was done. Preparing the ground, that’s all. No excavation”, he admits luck contracted construction company for the project. The expectations that emerged at the end of April, which was organized for the “breaking of the first stone” of a complex where a 38-room hotel and a commercial building were designed, were left behind.
The prospects were so encouraging at the time that the Davis cabinet went so far as to release a video in which the leader was heard in an optimistic tone: “FTX Digital Markets has stopped. Positive footprints in the Bahamas. They continue to leave positive impressions today.”
Since you moved to our shores, @FTX_Official He left positive footprints throughout the Bahamas. Today, they continue to leave positive impressions by laying the foundation of their new headquarters. I look forward to attending the grand opening of the FTX Bahamas headquarters. pic.twitter.com/vWxzMoN9jm
—Philip Brave Davis (@HonPhilipEDavis) 25 April 2022
1) We are really excited to establish @FTXFormalHeadquartered in the Bahamas!
a) The Bahamas is one of the few places that has created a comprehensive framework for crypto; FTX registered
b) Bahamas emerged from COVID alive, safe and without quarantine
—SBF (@SBFFTX) September 24, 2021
What happened at the FTX headquarters is perhaps just one of the most visual examples of how the Bahamas experienced the stock market crash, which became the third most important stock market by volume. The company’s tourism power, which is vital to its financial situation, made a strong landing, set expectations, stimulated its economy and created jobs in a country that was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, first after Hurricane Doria in 2019.19 . Now, after the company fell out of favor, it left a feeling of disappointment among many of the islanders.
To understand the feelings of at least some of its population, it helps to read the editorial published this Tuesday by Nassau Guardone of the main daily newspapers in the country: “The Bahamas are taking a black eye at every step [que da el caso] and it is not possible to find any benefit in ignoring this fact. Criticizing his government’s, and especially Davis’s response, the text affects “the already obvious discrediting.”
The bankruptcy of the Stock Exchange leaves its mark on the country’s labor market, beyond the image or imagination of the big complex announced by FTX. Ever since he set foot in the Bahamas—details The Wall Street Gazette— The company applied to different services such as vehicle fleet rental, catering companies and logistics technicians for the organization of the event.
There were even local employees jumping into it. thousands of dollars investment To buy shares on the stock market. Why? Not so long ago, Bankman-Fried posed on the covers of prestigious magazines, and there were those who portrayed him as the cryptographic version of Warren Buffey.
The Bahamas has managed to position itself in the crypto space, and its prime minister has assured Parliament that it will emerge from the FTX debate with “increasing credibility”, provided the country has “solid digital asset jurisdiction.” as editor Nassau Guard At least part of the country fears its reputation will be tarnished: “Judicial power has unknowingly provided a way for FTX to operate in a way that will tarnish our reputation and discredit our regulatory regime, which is hailed as the best in its class.”
Not all of them affected by the FTX case After all, they are investors.
Cover photo: Office of the Prime Minister Bahamas
Source: Xataka
Alice Smith is a seasoned journalist and writer for Div Bracket. She has a keen sense of what’s important and is always on top of the latest trends. Alice provides in-depth coverage of the most talked-about news stories, delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles that keep her readers informed and engaged.