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Most FTX clients get all their money back less than 2 years after the catastrophic cryptocurrency collapse
FTX says nearly all of its customers will get back money they are owed, two years after the cryptocurrency exchange’s implosion, and some will get more
From
MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business writer
May 8, 2024, 8:32am ET
• 3 minute reading
FTX says nearly all of its customers will receive money owed back two years after the cryptocurrency exchange’s implosion, and some will receive more.
FTX said in a court filing late Tuesday that it owes about $11.2 billion to its creditors. The exchange estimates it has between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion to distribute to them.
The statement said that after paying claims in full, the plan provides for the payment of additional interest to creditors, to the extent that funds still remain. The interest rate for most lenders is 9%.
This may be little consolation to investors who were trading cryptocurrency on the stock exchange when it crashed. When FTX sought bankruptcy protection in November 2022, bitcoin was worth $16,080. But cryptocurrency prices have soared as the economy has recovered while FTX’s assets have been sorted out over the past two years. A single bitcoin sold for nearly $62,675 on Tuesday. This equates to a loss of 290%, a little less than if you count the accrued interest, if investors had held on to those coins.
Customers and creditors claiming $50,000 or less will receive about 118% of their debt, under the plan, which was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. This covers approximately 98% of FTX customers.
FTX said it was able to recover funds by monetizing a pool of assets that consisted primarily of proprietary investments held by the Alameda or FTX Ventures businesses or in lawsuits.
FTX was the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange when it filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2022 after experiencing the crypto equivalent of a bank run.
CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned when the exchange collapsed. In March he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the massive FTX fraud.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in November of fraud and conspiracy — a dramatic fall from a peak of success that included a Super Bowl advertisements, testimony before Congress, and celebrity endorsements from stars like quarterback Tom Brady, basketball point guard Stephen Curry and comedian Larry David.
The company has named new CEO John Ray III, a longtime bankruptcy litigator best known for cleaning up the mess created after Enron’s collapse.
“We are pleased to be able to propose a Chapter 11 plan that provides for 100% repayment of bankruptcy claim amounts plus interest to non-government creditors,” Ray said in a prepared statement.
The bankruptcy court will hold a hearing on June 25.