FTX Seeks Bankruptcy Court Approval to Sell $744 Million Worth of Trust Assets, Including Grayscale and Bitwise Funds

Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its debtors have sought approval from the bankruptcy court of Delaware to sell select trust assets, including funds from Grayscale and Bitwise, with an estimated value of $744 million.

The proposed sale would be facilitated through an investment adviser, according to a court filing submitted on Friday.

The primary objective behind the sale of these “trust assets” is to enable the estates to prepare for forthcoming distributions to creditors and provide FTX with the ability to promptly sell the assets at an opportune time.

By consolidating the sales into a single process, the cost and delay associated with filing separate motions for each proposed sale can be mitigated, according to the court filing.

“The Debtors’ proposed sale(s) or transfer(s) of the Trust Assets will help allow the estates to prepare for forthcoming dollarized distributions to creditors and allow the Debtors to act quickly to sell the Trust Assets at the opportune time,” the filing said.

“Additionally, because the Debtors may sell the Trust Assets to one or more buyers in one or more sales, sales pursuant to the Sale Procedures will alleviate the cost and delay of filing a separate motion for each proposed sale.”

Proposed Trust Includes Grayscale and Bitwise Funds

The trust assets in question consist of $691 million held across five Grayscale Trusts and $53 million managed by Bitwise, based on market values.

“The debtors’ judgment is that proactively mitigating the risk of price swings will best protect the value of the Trust Assets, thereby maximizing the return to creditors and promoting an equitable distribution of funds in the debtor’s’ plan of reorganization.”

In addition to utilizing an investment adviser for the sale process, the debtors have proposed the establishment of a pricing committee with representation from all stakeholders.

The investment adviser would be mandated to obtain a minimum of two bids from different counterparties before finalizing any asset sale.

The bankruptcy court of Delaware will now review and consider the request from FTX and its debtors.

Bankman-Fried Faces 115 Years in Prison

Last week, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty by a jury of defrauding customers and lenders.

A tentative sentencing date of March 28, 2024, has been set, with legal experts suggesting a potential prison term of 15-20 years, despite a theoretical maximum of 115 years.

Meanwhile, Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research, Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, and Nishad Singh, FTX engineering chief, are likely to receive little to no prison time for their cooperation, according to legal experts.

All three admitted to participating in fraudulent activities under Bankman-Fried’s direction, involving the transfer of billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to Alameda, a hedge fund mostly owned by Bankman-Fried.

However, they may still face other consequences. The government could demand the return of ill-gotten gains and order restitution payments to victims.

Given the government’s claim that FTX customers suffered losses in the billions, the financial burden on the three witnesses could be substantial.