Historical replay · FTT/USD
FTT's Collapse That Triggered FTX's Implosion (November 2022)
FTX's own exchange token, FTT, crashed from roughly $25 to near $2 in four days in November 2022 — the price move that turned a balance-sheet report into the collapse of one of crypto's largest exchanges.
FTT was the native token of the FTX exchange, and a large share of its supply sat on the balance sheet of Alameda Research, the trading firm owned by FTX's founder. On November 2, 2022, a report revealed that a significant portion of Alameda's assets consisted of FTT tokens rather than more liquid, independent assets — raising questions about how solvent the firm actually was if it ever needed to sell that position.
On November 6, the CEO of a rival exchange announced plans to sell his exchange's own holdings of FTT, citing the report. FTT, trading near $25 that day, began sliding immediately as the announcement triggered a broader loss of confidence.
What followed was one of crypto's fastest asset collapses: FTT fell from a high near $25.47 on November 6 to a low near $2.01 by November 9-10, a decline of roughly 92% in under four days, as customers rushed to withdraw funds from FTX itself and the exchange's own reserves proved unable to cover them.
The FTT crash wasn't merely a consequence of FTX's collapse — it was the specific price action that set the whole event in motion, turning a single balance-sheet report into a liquidity crisis that FTX couldn't survive, a reminder of how concentrated a company's own token holdings can turn illiquid risk into an existential one almost overnight.