Solana Rally Sees FTX's Holdings Grow to $4.2B, Setting Claims Market on Fire
FTX’s SOL holdings are worth over $4.2 billion in today’s money, up from $1.16 billion from earlier this year.
Updated Mar 9, 2024, 1:50 a.m. Published Dec 15, 2023, 2:13 p.m.
A rally in the price of cryptocurrencies such as Solana (SOL), which is currently trading at $78, has set the market for FTX bankruptcy claims on fire, according to specialists at distressed firms dealing in crypto.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the boss of FTX, which suddenly spiraled into bankruptcy last year, had championed the Solana project, and the exchange holds a sizable clutch of 55.8 million SOL tokens, according to CoinGecko.
Those SOL holdings, the majority of which (42.2 million) are locked up and not immediately tradable on the market, had been pegged at a market value of $1.16 billion earlier this year. The tokens are worth around $4.2 billion, based on the SOL price of $75.60 on Friday.
Read more: A Year After Sam Bankman-Fried's Downfall, Solana and Other FTX Holdings Are Flying High
This hike in the value of the FTX estate’s crypto holdings would catapult its recovery into 100% re-pay, leaving distressed firms scrambling to buy claims at 60-70 cents on the dollar, according to Thomas Braziel, CEO of 117 Partners.
“The market for claims has gone red hot,” Braziel said via email. “Everything that was off the table is now on the table in terms of issues with claims, such as KYC/ AML being not verified. In the beginning it was super picky; now it’s whatever we can touch that we can figure out, we will do.”
Vladimir Jelisavcic, founder and manager of Cherokee Acquisition, agreed that competition for FTX claims has been “exceptionally keen” lately.
“The dramatic price increase is driven by Solana and anticipation of the amended plan that should be filed by December 16,” Jelisavcic said via email.
Read more: Anatoly Yakovenko and Solana Bounce Back
CORRECTION (Dec. 15, 14:50 UTC): Corrects the value of total claims amount to $4.2 billion, based on $75.60/Solana price.
Ian Allison
Ian Allison is a senior reporter at CoinDesk, focused on institutional and enterprise adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to that, he covered fintech for the International Business Times in London and Newsweek online. He won the State Street Data and Innovation journalist of the year award in 2017, and was runner up the following year. He also earned CoinDesk an honourable mention in the 2020 SABEW Best in Business awards. His November 2022 FTX scoop, which brought down the exchange and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried, won a Polk award, Loeb award and New York Press Club award. Ian graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He holds ETH.
