FTX advisors reportedly found almost $5 billion in cash or cryptocurrency assets to settle creditors, according to a Bloomberg article.
John Dorsey, a judge in Delaware’s bankruptcy court, was informed by attorney Andrew Dietderich that the company was selling its assets, which included $4.6 billion in “nonstrategic investments.”
Due to the company’s demise the previous year, the Bahamas Securities Commission already holds $425 million in bitcoin. FTX lost $8 billion in November and has $3.1 billion in outstanding debt to pay to its 50 largest unsecured creditors.
Customer Names Must Be Kept Anonymous
Dietderich informed the panel that although clients were owed money, the exact amount was not known. According to the article, the court permitted John Ray III, the new CEO of FTX who replaced Sam Bankman-Fried, to keep the nine million company customers’ names confidential.
Dietderich testified that the company discovered 120 billion transactions on the platforms of the now-defunct crypto behemoth. Wednesday’s hearing got underway with the judge reading out a letter from four US congressmen asking him to appoint an impartial examiner.
They said the FTX lawyers might be involved in conflicts that would prevent a fair investigation. Dorsey disputed the letter’s influence. “It’s improper ex parte communication,” he said. “It won’t affect my choices.”
It took place just days after the DOJ seized $464 million worth of Robinhood stock from disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman in violation of Fried’s request to acquire the shares to cover his legal costs.
In a court filing, federal prosecutors admitted that they had gotten forfeiture orders for 55.3 million Robinhood shares and an additional $20.7 million from ED&F Man Capital Markets.
Another former FTX CEO, Zixiao “Gary” Wang, controls 10% of Emergent Fidelity Technology, which is 90% owned by Bankman-Fried and holds the shares.
Robinhood Gaining Notice
The Robinhood stock had been a contentious issue in court during the bankruptcy procedures for the shuttered cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Nevertheless, the DOJ’s seizure has put an end to the conflict and temporarily barred all parties from accessing the shares.
A court order to freeze the shares has been obtained by the current management of FTX, led by CEO Ray III, in order to use the revenues to pay off the company’s obligations. After last week’s not-guilty pleas to eight federal accusations of fraud and conspiracy, he runs the danger of an expensive legal battle if the matter proceeds to trial.
Zixiao “Gary” Wang owned 10% of the holding firm that owned the shares of Robinhood. According to the motion from the previous week, “Bankman-Fried needs part of this cash to pay for his criminal defense.”
Along with Bankman Fried’s claim in bankruptcy court, claims regarding the Robinhood shares have also been made by BlockFi, FTX, and liquidators in Antigua.
