FTX’s ‘easy-access’ clearing stokes fears over runaway risk

Crypto exchange will auto-liquidate underwater positions, which critics say could fuel a death spiral in prices

As the assorted celebrities and bitcoin bros made their way home from the glitzy Crypto Bahamas event last month, and the scene-shifters began dismantling the stage that hours earlier had hosted Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, questions still mounted.

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which held the event, was proposing a radical new clearing model that would allow retail investors to bypass clearing banks and gain direct access to crypto futures clearing. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the exchange