Lawyers acting on behalf of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX say that they expect to fully repay customers in the coming months.
During a court hearing, lawyers managing FTX’s insolvency process said that they have recovered enough cryptocurrency and cash from various accounts to fully repay former clients of the exchange.
About 15 million people lost a combined $35 billion U.S. worth of cryptocurrencies and cash in the wake of FTX's collapse in late 2022.
However, the repayment will be based on the price of cryptocurrencies, notably Bitcoin (BTC), at the point of FTX’s failure on Nov. 11 2022.
At that point in time, Bitcoin’s price was hovering around $20,500 U.S., less than half the $42,000 U.S. that it is trading at today.
Still, the recovery of assets in the FTX case is considered a positive outcome. Customers rarely get back all of their investment when a firm such as FTX falls into bankruptcy proceedings.
FTX was also found to have lax accounting processes, making the asset recovery process difficult for the lawyers involved.
During the latest court proceeding, lawyers for FTX said they are solely focused on making former clients whole and have abandoned plans to relaunch the defunct company’s crypto exchange, citing a lack of buyers and investor interest.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former head of FTX, was found guilty last fall of a host of securities law violations and is awaiting sentencing on March 28 this year.
