FTX claims it has billions more than owed to victims

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The collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX has reported that it possesses significantly more funds than required to reimburse its customers.

According to the company, after liquidating its remaining assets, it anticipates having as much as $16.3 billion (£13 billion) available. This amount would cover the existing debts, which total around $11 billion.

FTX’s new reorganization plan indicates that nearly all of its customers should receive at least the full amount they lost when the exchange went under in November 2022.

In related news, Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March of this year for defrauding customers and investors of the now-defunct company.

“We are pleased to be in a position to propose a chapter 11 plan that contemplates the return of 100% of bankruptcy claim amounts plus interest for non-governmental creditors,” said the company’s FTX’s new chief executive, John Ray.

The proposed plan by FTX still requires approval from a US bankruptcy court.

FTX has reported that it is accumulating funds to settle its debts by liquidating asset investments held by Alameda Research or FTX Ventures.

Alameda was a crypto trading firm managed by Bankman-Fried.

Despite a significant rise in cryptocurrency prices since the company’s collapse, FTX noted that this increase has not substantially improved its financial situation. The company revealed that almost all of the Bitcoin and other digital currencies it was believed to have held at the time of its collapse are missing.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has seen its value increase by about 270% since FTX declared bankruptcy over a year and a half ago.

Before its collapse, FTX was one of the world’s largest crypto platforms, and Bankman-Fried, who enjoyed celebrity status, drew millions of customers to the platform.

However, following reports of financial difficulties, customers rapidly withdrew billions of dollars from FTX, precipitating the company’s sudden failure and exposing the scale of Bankman-Fried’s criminal activities.