Amidst outcry from FTX creditors regarding perceived injustices in the bankruptcy proceedings and decisions, the now-defunct crypto business has sold a significant amount of Solana tokens at a considerable markdown.
FTX’s estate, managed by CEO John J. Ray III and bankruptcy administrators, executed the sale of 25 to 30 million Solana (SOL) coins at prices well below market value in an attempt to address the $16 billion deficit left by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Reported by Bloomberg on April 5, the crypto exchange managed to raise approximately $1.9 billion through this discounted SOL sale, with notable buyers including entities like Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Trading and Pantera Capital. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Galaxy had raised a $620 million fund specifically to acquire Solana from Bankman-Fried’s troubled exchange.
Additionally, Pantera had announced intentions to purchase $250 million worth of FTX’s SOL the previous month, while the estate also sold $1.7 million worth of Solana to Neptune Digital Assets.
Previous filings had indicated that Solana comprised the majority of FTX’s crypto assets. Bankman-Fried’s publicly supported SOL company had invested hundreds of millions in the native cryptocurrency and tokens within its ecosystem, such as Serum (SRM).
During a trial last November, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison referred to Solana and other SOL-based tokens as ‘Sam’s coins’. Bankman-Fried has since been found guilty on seven criminal counts and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
FTX Creditors Contest Bankruptcy Proceedings
Creditors of the defunct exchange have united to challenge what they perceive as an unjust bankruptcy process. In January, the presiding judge ruled that each creditor should receive an equivalent value of holdings based on FTX’s declaration of bankruptcy in late 2022.
At that time, SOL prices hovered around $16, but at the time of writing, the token’s value had surged above $175, sparking dissatisfaction among creditors. The FTX Customer Ad Hoc Committee, the largest voting bloc in the bankruptcy, gathered 1,400 signatures to advocate for creditor rights and push for fairer court rulings regarding the treatment of crypto claims.
