FTX Receives Approval to Sell $873 Million of Trust Assets
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has received approval from a Delaware bankruptcy court to sell approximately $873 million of trust assets. The proceeds from the sale will be used to repay creditors affected by the collapse of the exchange in 2022. The assets to be sold include FTX’s stakes in trusts issued by Grayscale Investments and Bitwise, valued at $807 million and $66 million, respectively.
The court document mentions a total of $744 million in assets, but this valuation is as of October 25, 2023, and the assets have since increased in value. The approval comes after FTX debtors filed a motion requesting the sale of six cryptocurrency trusts, including the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Ethereum Trust, and Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund.
Assets Owned by FTX
FTX currently holds over 22 million units of Grayscale’s flagship Bitcoin product, worth $691 million, and 6.3 million shares of Grayscale Ethereum Trust, valued at around $106 million. FTX can now sell other trusts such as Grayscale’s Ethereum Classic Trust, Litecoin Trust, and Digital Large Cap Trust to recover funds for impacted customers.
Efforts to Recover Assets
FTX’s administrators, led by John J. Ray III, have been working towards recovering assets since the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire in November 2022. So far, they have recovered approximately $7 billion in assets, with almost half of that amount being cryptocurrencies.
In June, FTX debtors estimated that customer assets misappropriated totaled $8.7 billion. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven fraud-related charges and is awaiting sentencing. He is currently in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Hot Take: FTX Receives Approval to Sell Trust Assets Worth $873 Million
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has been given the green light by a Delaware bankruptcy court to sell approximately $873 million worth of trust assets. This move aims to repay creditors affected by the exchange’s collapse in 2022. The assets include stakes in trusts issued by Grayscale Investments and Bitwise. FTX administrators have been diligently working to recover assets since the collapse, and they have successfully retrieved around $7 billion so far. This approval marks a significant step forward in the process of repaying impacted customers and resolving the aftermath of FTX’s bankruptcy.