FTX’s venture arm used $200 million of customer funds to participate in financing rounds for two projects — Mysten Labs and Dave. CNBC reported, citing documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In March 2022, FTX Ventures invested $100 million in the digital bank Dave. In September, the company led the Series B investment round for Mysten Labs. According to the network, it also provided $100 million to Dave.
Earlier, the Financial Times revealed the venture arm’s portfolio investments. According to CNBC, the SEC has only found evidence of customer funds being used in the two aforementioned deals.
In an interview with the channel, Dave’s CEO Jason Wilk said that by 2026 his company intends to “repay [FTX’s investments] with interest.” He explained that the financing was provided through a convertible note, which the exchange could later convert into equity.
In one of the latest SEC filings, the neobank stated that the process had not been completed — Dave has outstanding obligations to FTX amounting to $101.6 million (including interest).
‘The promissory note issued by FTX is due to be repaid in March 2026. None of the terms contained in the document impose on Dave any obligations to repay before the specified date,’ CNBC quotes the digital bank as saying.
Wilk also stressed that at the time of signing the deal his company did not know that FTX and Alameda were using user assets in investments.
On December 12, Bahamian authorities arrested the founder of the exchange Sam Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. government.
As part of the investigation into the collapse of FTX, the U.S. attorney’s office charged him with eight counts of criminal wrongdoing, including misappropriation of customer funds.
As a reminder, after his extradition to the United States Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bail.
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