Nairobi, Nov. 30 -- Crypto exchange FTX and its sister company Alameda Research, which have filed for bankruptcy in a United States court, invested billions in at least three Kenyan start-ups in what could throw the young firms into financial wild waters.

Regulatory filings and court papers show that Sam Bankman-Fried's collapsed $32 billion crypto empire through investment arm Alameda Research, pumped billions of shillings into local crypto exchange BitPesa, digital finance start-up Mara and remittance company Chipper Cash.

Mara received Sh2.8 billion ($23 million) in May backed by FTX-affiliated Alameda Research and Coinbase Ventures for expansion and to create a platform for its users to buy and sell crypto tokens using the Kenya shi...