FTX’s LedgerX Derivatives Exchange Sold to Miami International Holdings in Bankruptcy Auction

M7 Holdings, an affiliate of Miami International Holdings (MIH), won the bankruptcy auction to buy crypto derivatives exchange LedgerX, according to a press release. The total proceeds from the deal is expected to be about $50 million for the debtors.

FTX.US purchased Ledger Holdings, the parent company of LedgerX, for $298 million in 2021, according to audited financial statements viewed by CoinDesk. Ledger Holdings also includes the crypto hedge fund LedgerPrime, which said it would return external capital to investors in September 2022.

LedgerX’s sale comes after a tumultuous auction process that included multiple postponements. A sale hearing was expected to occur on April 12, according to bankruptcy filings, but an April 10 filing said that “the sale hearing regarding the sale of the LedgerX Business is postponed until further notice.”

According to financial documents viewed by CoinDesk, LedgerX generated trading and clearing revenue of $1.2 million and posted negative EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $17 million in 2022.

“We are pleased to reach this agreement with MIH, which is an example of our continuing efforts to monetize assets to deliver recoveries to stakeholders,” said John J. Rray III, CEO and restructuring head of the FTX Debtors, in the release.

Miami International Holdings is a U.S.-based exchange conglomerate that owns several equities, options and commodities exchanges. It already holds the licenses to operate a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-licensed commodities exchange, having acquired the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) in 2020. Currently, MGEX offers just one non-index commodity futures product: North American Hard Red Spring Wheat. Miami’s acquisition of LedgerX would allow the company to enter into crypto trading.

LedgerX was purchased by the U.S. entity of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and rebranded as FTX.US Derivatives. LedgerX holds three CFTC-issued licenses, which allow LedgerX to list futures contracts for commodities, provide clearing services and broker futures trades for customers.

After FTX purchased the business, some competitors did similar deals. In December 2021, Crypto.com announced it would acquire the CFTC-regulated North American Derivatives Exchange (Nadex) and Small Exchange for $216 million. A month later, Coinbase announced it would acquire FairX, another CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange, for $270 million.