Crypto exchange FTX and its sister company Alameda Research, which have filed for bankruptcy in the United States, have invested in at least three Kenyan startups, Business Daily newspaper reported, citing regulatory filings and court papers.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed crypto exchange’s investment arm Alameda Research pumped billions of shillings into local crypto exchange BitPesa, digital finance startup Mara and remittance company Chipper Cash.

Mara received 2.8 billion shillings ($23 million) in May, backed by FTX-affiliated Alameda Research and Coinbase Ventures to expand and create a platform to buy and sell crypto tokens using shilling and other currencies in the region.

Chipper Cash raised 18.3 billion shillings ($150 million) from the collapsed crypto firm and other investors for expansion in Africa.

On the other hand, FTX has listed BitPesa Kenya as one of its over 100 subsidiaries spread across continents in the US bankruptcy protection filed on November 11.

FTX was one of the most popular digital tokens trading platforms in Africa and Kenya, being one of the leading markets in the region, could signal losses running into billions, the newspaper said. 

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )