FTX Estate to Sell Locked Solana Balance at 68% Discount

The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s estate is set to sell its remaining 41 million Solana (SOL) tokens to institutional investors at a significant discount. The tokens are valued at $7.65 billion, but will be sold for around $60, which is a 68% discount to the current market price. Sunil Kavuri, a creditor of FTX, claimed during the sentencing of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried that not all customers have been fully compensated for their losses, accusing FTX’s bankruptcy counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell, of infringing on their property rights. Kavuri pointed out that the firm had sold SOL tokens at a significant discount, losing out on potential profits.

In a previous victim impact statement, Kavuri stated that the FTX estate owned 41.1 million SOL tokens, which should have been distributed to FTX creditors and sold at a market value of $187 per token. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan clarified that the purpose of the hearing was solely to sentence Sam Bankman-Fried and not to address issues regarding creditors’ claims. The judge acknowledged that the claim that customers would be fully reimbursed was inaccurate.

One investor, Neptune Digital Assets, confirmed the discounted sales by announcing its acquisition of 26,964 SOL tokens at $64 each, a 67% discount from the market price at the time. Although the buyer was not revealed, the terms of the sale align with those provided by the FTX estate. According to a Bloomberg report, the discounted SOL tokens will have a vesting period of four years.

Concurrently with the bankruptcy proceedings, FTX creditors have initiated a class action against Sullivan and Cromwell, alleging their involvement in the FTX fraud prior to becoming the exchange’s bankruptcy counsel. It is worth noting that FTX was an early investor in the Solana ecosystem before its collapse.