Media: Bankrupt FTX exchange will sell blocked SOL tokens at auction

Previously, the platform liquidated digital assets in private sales at a predetermined price

22.04.2024 - 09:20

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2 min

What’s new? The next sale of locked native tokens of the Solana (SOL) blockchain owned by bankrupt crypto exchange FTX will be held in an auction format. This decision was made due to high demand from potential buyers, Figure CEO Mike Cagney told The Block. Previously, the coins were sold in closed sales at a predetermined price.

Material by The Block

What else is known? The locked Solana tokens made up the largest share of FTX’s crypto portfolio at the time of the November 2022 crash, the exchange was one of the largest investors in the blockchain. These assets, selling at below market value, have interested many companies despite being on the blockchain until a certain date and not yet marketable.

The last sale of 2/3 of FTX’s holdings brought $2,6 billion to the exchange at a price of about $60 per 1 SOL. Including SOL worth $1,9 billion were sold to Galaxy Digital and Pantera Capital. Solana’s current price is hovering around $153, bringing buyers unrealized profits, but due to the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency, the price could change significantly by the time it is unlocked.

According to Cagney, his Figure Markets intends to create a special mechanism for non-US investors and accredited US investors to participate in the auction. FTX itself has not yet commented on the upcoming sales.

Earlier, it became known that FTX will begin to reimburse funds to clients at the end of this year. The amount of claims will be assessed at the rates of cryptocurrencies at the time of bankruptcy, which are significantly lower than the current ones.

FTX has also paid out several hundred million dollars to bankrupt BlockFi and Voyager as part of settlement agreements.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced by a US court to 25 years in prison for fraud. He is trying to challenge the verdict and has filed an appeal.

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