On Friday, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled that the names of individual customers of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading can remain shielded from public disclosure. Judge John Dorsey dismissed arguments from lawyers for media outlets and the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, who argued that the public and press had a legitimate interest in knowing the names of those affected.
Dorsey said customer identities constitute a trade secret and should be protected from potential scams. “It’s the customers that are the most important issue here,” he stated. “I want to make sure they don’t fall victim to any types of scams that might be happening out there.”
Brian Glueckstein, an attorney for FTX, said the customer list is a valuable asset and confidential commercial information. FTX believes the list could be beneficial in a sale of assets or a reorganization.
FTX entered bankruptcy in November, when founder Sam Bankman-Fried was accused of cheating investors and looting customer deposits. Three former FTX executives pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
Dorsey authorized FTX to permanently keep secret the names of individual customers and the addresses and email addresses of non-individual customers. He also extended the secrecy for the names of institutional customers for another 90 days. However, he refused to continue to shield the names of individual creditors or equity holders covered under the General Data Protection Regulation or Japanese data privacy laws.
The judge also denied a request by attorneys for an ad hoc committee of non-U.S. customers to keep the names of its members secret. If the committee wants to participate in the case, the names must be disclosed. According to redacted court filings, the ad hoc committee currently has 35 members, with estimated economic interests in FTX ranging from $64,434 to $1.5 billion.
