The fallout from the collapse of FTX continues to dominate the news flow in the business press: Once the world’s third-largest crypto exchange, FTX filed for bankruptcy over the weekend, and state investigators in the Bahamas are probing for signs of criminality. Analysts said that hundreds of mns of USD vanished from the exchange in the hours before its collapse, which was triggered after a report last week revealed a multi-bn USD hole in its balance sheet.

FTX users can kiss their deposits goodbye: Sources who viewed a limited copy of the balance sheet said FTX held USD 900 mn in liquid assets a day before it filed for bankruptcy against USD 9 bn in liabilities.

Maybe Magic Internet Money isn’t a store of value after all: Exchanges are scrambling to reassure their users that their money is safe as the implosion of FTX shakes investors’ faith in the stability of crypto firms. Binance and others have pledged to go public with their reserves to prove they do have enough liquidity on hand to meet withdrawals. And we’re not just talking about retail investors: the episode may be the death knell for crypto’s mainstream adoption in institutional portfolios, investors tell Bloomberg.

The story is everywhere in the business press: Reuters | Financial Times | Bloomberg | CNBC.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 1.9% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.2 bn (7.4% above the 90-day average). International investors were net buyers. The index is up 0.3% YTD.

In the green: e-Finance (+6.4%), Fawry (+5.0%) and Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (+4.7%).

In the red: Rameda Pharma (-1.8%), Telecom Egypt (-1.4%) and QNB Al Ahli (-1.3%).