FTX is still in murky waters despite discovering $5.5b of liquid assets

FTX and its advisors have revealed they found about $5.5 billion in liquid assets so far, comprising $1.7 billion of cash, $3.5 billion of crypto assets, and $0.3 billion of securities. Customers may still not get fully reimbursed despite the discovered funds.

FTX and its affiliated debtors have announced that their top-level management and advisors have met with the officials and members of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC) in the exchange’s bankruptcy case.  

According to a press release posted on Jan. 17, a total of $5.5 billion worth of liquid assets have been identified. The assets include $1.7 billion worth of cash, $3.5 billion of bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, and $0.3 billion of securities. 

However, despite the large sums mentioned above, the FTX Debtors have clarified that there is still a substantial shortfall of assets. As such, the exchange’s customers and debtors may still not recoup their losses.

The debtors claim they have identified an estimated $1.6 billion worth of digital assets belonging to FTX.com, out of which $323 million was transferred out of the exchange by unauthorized third parties, $426 million is held in cold storage by Bahamian authorities, the Debtors hold $743 million in cold storage. In comparison, another $121 million is set to be sent to its cold wallet.

On the other hand, the FTX Debtors have also identified about $181 million worth of crypto belonging to FTX US. The team says $90 million out of the discovered assets has been transferred out of the platform by unauthorized third parties, $88 million is held in cold storage controlled by FTX Debtors, while another $3 million is pending transfer to its cold wallet. 

Commenting on the recovery process, John J. Ray III, the CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer of the FTX Debtors, reiterated that the team is making huge progress in its recovery effort. He said:

“It has taken a herculean investigative effort to uncover this preliminary information. We ask our stakeholders to understand that this information is still preliminary and subject to change. We will provide additional information as soon as we are able to do so.”

John J. Ray III, current FTX CEO

In related news, FTX secured approval to sell some of its assets earlier this month. Monex Group is in talks with the relevant authorities to acquire FTX Japan.