FTX Has Amassed More Money Than Needed for Repayments

FTX filed an amended Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement with the bankruptcy court on May 7 as part of its ongoing case.

The firm has proposed a way to repay creditors between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion, which it has recovered from selling assets and consolidating funds from various entities. It owes customers and other non-governmental creditors about $11 billion.

This is billions of dollars more than it needs to cover what customers lost when the exchange collapsed in November 2022, and great news for creditors waiting for reimbursement.

FTX Back in The Black

“FTX has achieved this recovery level by monetizing an extraordinarily diverse collection of assets , most of which were proprietary investments held by the Alameda or FTX Ventures businesses, or litigation claims,” it stated in the announcement .

The FTX Debtors today filed their anticipated amended Plan of Reorganization and accompanying Disclosure Statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Read about it here https://t.co/EGmlVdWOaS below: pic.twitter.com/bwwvRolX21

— FTX (@FTX_Official) May 7, 2024

Under the proposed plan, 98% of FTX creditors with claims under $50,000 would receive around 118% of their allowed claims in cash within 60 days after the plan is approved.

Other non-governmental creditors would receive 100% of their allowed claims, plus potential additional interest payments of up to 9% from when FTX filed for bankruptcy.

FTX Chief Executive Officer John Ray said, “In any bankruptcy, this is just an unbelievable result.”

He added, “We are pleased to be in a position to propose a Chapter 11 plan that contemplates the return of 100% of bankruptcy claim amounts plus interest for non-governmental creditors.”

Additionally, FTX has reached settlements to resolve huge claims from the United States IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

It aims to create a fund to provide supplemental payments to some creditors using recoveries that would have gone to regulators.

However, the payouts are still several months away as the firm finalizes its bankruptcy case.

Crypto Recovery

Much of that excess cash has been attributed to the recovery in cryptocurrency markets, particularly its heavy holdings such as Solana .

SOL prices have surged more than 1,100% since November 2022, when they fell below $12 in the wake of the exchange meltdown.

The asset is currently trading around $149, following a 4.5% decline on the day. SOL hit a 2024 high of $208 in mid-March but remains down 43% from its November 2021 peak price of $260.