Why are the Miami Heat changing the name of their arena? What happened to FTX?
FTX, or “Futures Exchange,” is a Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange company founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang in 2019 that, in a brief time, became the world’s leading platform for trading tokens.
FTX is an integrated World cryptocurrency exchange that differs from its rivals by delivering innovative products like derivatives, options, and leveraged tokens. It also endows more than 300 cryptocurrencies, a much larger count than some of its competitors.
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Following the path of many other crypto companies, FTX chose to invest massively in sports sponsorships. FTX reportedly signed a $135 million 19-year deal to rename the Miami arena in June 2021. Their owners were also one of the most significant contributors to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
Market crash and the consequences
Across May and June 2022, the crypto markets started to collapse steadily. Cryptocurrencies lost around $1trn in value. Bitcoin experienced an enormous value decline after peaking at $60,741 (£49,838) in November 2021, slumping to $22,294 (£18,976) on August 1, 2022. And that was just the beginning.
A few weeks ago, there was big news in this market of a potential take-over between two of the probably most prominent players in this part of the financial industry.
Binance pulled out of a deal to acquire its embattled rival. After they reviewed FTX’s finances as part of the due diligence process, it was mentioned in the reports cases of “mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations” immediately announcing the deal was off. They also noted that the company’s issues were “beyond our control or ability to help.”
On November 9, 2022, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried informed the investors that FTX.com would file for bankruptcy if it didn’t receive another cash-flow injection from them. In the epilog of the events, FTX CEO resigned, commencing a shocking collapse for one of the biggest and most influential players in the crypto industry.
Miami Heat arena
Soon after this news broke out, Miami-Dade County and Miami Heat said in a coordinated announcement on Friday night that the reports about FTX were “extremely disappointing” and that they would operate jointly to find a new naming rights partner for the arena, one year after being named FTX Arena last year.
