FOI reveals 32 UK crypto traders lost over $2M to FTX

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Crypto traders in the UK have turned to the police for help after losing nearly $2.3 million following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) FTX empire.

As reported by CityAM, a freedom of information request (FOI) submitted by trading website Investing Reviews to the City of London Police revealed how 32 crypto traders lost a collective £1.9 million ($2.28 million).

Data from the FOI request reveals that one investor is still in their teens, another is in their seventies, and one lost a total of £1 million.

Investing Reviews founder and CEO Simon Jones warned that the reported losses are likely to be “the tip of the iceberg.”

The SBF iceberg

Indeed dramatic losses are being reported across the globe following FTX’s implosion.

A bulletin by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) claims that, following the crash of Terra Luna in 2021, $400 billion was wiped from the crypto market. Then, in 2022, following the collapse of FTX, it estimates a further $200 billion was lost by crypto investors.

The bulletin states that many crypto app users in “nearly all economies” have made losses on their bitcoin holdings following FTX’s collapse, while whales sold “at the expense of smaller holders.”

A large portion of these loss-making retail crypto investors is estimated to be from emerging countries such as India, Pakistan, Brazil, Turkey, and Thailand.

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