In an ongoing bid to reclaim assets to repay creditors hurt by its 2022 collapse, defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which was run by disgraced convict Sam Bankman Fried for 25 years, has reached an agreement with UAE-based cryptocurrency platform Bybit, allowing it to withdraw. assets as part of a $228 million settlement.
FTX to get money back from Bybit
According to A a report From Bloomberg, the settlement includes FTX dropping its lawsuit against Bybit Fintech Ltd. and related entities. The company requested approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to finalize this agreement, which comes after months of negotiations.
Under the terms of the deal, FTX is set to recover approximately $175 million Digital assets It retained Bybit and sold the BIT tokens to Bybit’s investment arm, Mirana, for approximately $53 million.
The legal dispute arose over allegations that Mirana withdrew $327 million in assets from FTX just before the stock market crash, using “special privileges.” Meanwhile, other users had difficulty accessing their funds.
As part of the settlement, defendants who withdrew their funds shortly before FTX filed for bankruptcy will be allowed to file for bankruptcy Creditors’ claims Up to 75% of their account balances at the time of filing for bankruptcy. FTX described the arrangement as generating “significant net savings to the debtors’ estates.”
FTX expressed confidence in the settlement in its filing, saying: “Through the settlement agreement, the Debtors will recover substantially everything they seek to recover.”
The company stressed that this agreement would help secure a significant recovery Owners While avoiding the “costs and uncertainties” associated with ongoing litigation and potential enforcement challenges abroad.
The settlement is one of several agreements orchestrated by FTX’s new CEO, John J. Ray III, who took the helm after the stock market crash. Earlier this month, the court approved it Wind plan To distribute at least $12.6 billion to clients whose assets were trapped on the platform.
Creditor payments are expected to be made by early 2025
Ditto I mentioned By Bitcoinist Judge John Dorsey of the US Bankruptcy Court has approved a reorganization plan that seeks to begin making payments to creditors nearly two years after the collapse of FTX.
K33 analysts Vetel Lund and David Zimmerman expect creditor payments to begin in the latter half of the fourth quarter of 2024 and extend into early first quarter of 2025. These payments are expected to occur within a period of 60 days from the effective date of the court, which is expected to It will be announced in mid-November.
Analysts point out this Bitcoin BTC prices could benefit from these developments as money is released back into the market. However, a significant portion of the claims — estimated at between $14.4 billion and $16.3 billion — have already been purchased by credit funds, reducing the likelihood of these assets returning to the market.
Furthermore, approximately 33% of the remaining claims are linked to sanctioned entities and individuals without proper KYC verification, making it unlikely that those assets will be recovered.
Taking these factors into account, analysts estimate that about 20% to 40% of the remaining $8 billion could re-enter the market. This prediction hinges on the nature of FTX’s trader base, which largely consists of “aggressive crypto-native risk takers.”
At the time of writing, the exchange’s native token, FTT, is trading at $1.80.
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