A Swiss regulator rejected FTX Europe’s application for a trading license.

The now-defunct global crypto giant’s European unit, FTX Europe, unsuccessfully applied for a trading license in Switzerland. In the aftermath, the organization lost its Cypriot license.

Although FTX’s application for a Swiss trading license has not been officially confirmed, local publication NZZ reported on it, citing unnamed sources close to the matter.

FTX Europe, based in Pfäffikon, a town close to Zurich, was authorized to conduct business in the European Union as a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF). After receiving the license in September, FTX’s European division was able to provide retail customers in the European Economic Area with cryptocurrency derivatives (EEA). The Cypriot license is currently revoked.

It was kept secret that the exchange was attempting to obtain a “organized trading system” from Swiss banking regulator Finma. It would have made FTX one of the few bitcoin businesses with a Swiss license, further strengthening its regulatory position.

The local FTX entity’s license was suspended by the Australian Financial Markets Regulator until May 15, 2023, as the business entered voluntary administration.

FTX has rapidly expanded since its founding in 2019. In its most recent fundraising round, the exchange was valued at $34 billion; however, venture capital companies have recently begun to write off their hundreds of millions of dollars in FTX investments.

More than 130 other affiliates, including FTX Trading Ltd. and Alameda Research, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware earlier this month. It’s interesting to note that FTX’s Bahamas-based corporation applied for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York. The local company was mandated to transfer all digital assets belonging to consumers to cryptocurrency wallets under government supervision by the Bahamas financial market regulator.

Some of the FTX’s financial missteps are also made public by the bankruptcy petition of the exchange. The exchange owes its top 50 debtors $3.1 billion. $226 million is owing to the highest individual alone, and the remaining debts range from $21 million to $203 million.