In a surprising turn, the estate of the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is set to sell its hefty Solana balance, amounting to 41 million tokens—valued at a staggering $7.65 billion. However, the sale comes with an unprecedented catch: the tokens will be sold to institutional investors at a whopping 68% discount, cost per token being around $60.
FTX’s bankruptcy has left a trail of disgruntled customers who have yet to be compensated, as reported by FTX creditor Sunil Kavuri at co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing hearing on March 28. Kavuri has criticized FTX’s bankruptcy counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell, alleging the firm liquidated billions of dollars worth of crypto assets at a significant reduction.
Kavuri’s grievances were further outlined in a victim impact statement. Primarily, the estate’s “41.1 million Solana tokens” should be allocated to FTX creditors instead of being sold. With an impressive current trading price of $187 per token, the proposed selling price of $60 is understandably a contentious point of frustration.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over the hearing, noted that it was intended to sentence Bankman-Fried, not address creditor complaints. Nonetheless, he acknowledged Kavuri’s assertion that customers being made whole was inaccurate.
Further piquing interest in the crypto community is Neptune Digital Assets’ recent acquisition of 26,964 SOL tokens, bought at $64 each— a 67% discount to its market price. The Canadian blockchain firm’s acquisition closely mirrors the odd terms put forth by the FTX estate. Meanwhile, a four-year vesting period for the sale of discounted Solana tokens has emerged. This comes hand-in-hand with separate allegations against Sullivan and Cromwell. FTX is, after all is said and done, remembered as an early investor in the Solana ecosystem before its unfortunate collapse.