FTX, the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange that went bust in November 2022, will be making a second round of distributions amounting to $5.4 billion to its creditors on May 30, 2025. This is following a first round earlier this year and is a major milestone towards the court-approved plan of paying back customers and investors who got stuck when the platform collapsed.
A Milestone Distribution
Under the terms announced in a May 15 press release, the FTX Recovery Trust will begin disbursing more than $5 billion to eligible creditors via custodial partners BitGo and Kraken, with funds expected to arrive within one to three business days after May 30, 2025. This second distribution focuses on claims exceeding $50,000, following the “Convenience Class” payouts—claims under $50,000—that commenced in February.
Creditors and Distribution Mechanics
The exchange has categorized creditor claims into multiple classes, each with its own recovery rate based on the value of customer holdings at the time of FTX’s bankruptcy filing on November 11, 2022. Recoveries vary from 54% for U.S. Customer Entitlement Claims to 72% for overseas Dotcom Customer Entitlement Claims, and up to 120% for minor “Convenience” claims, already partially paid. The format is such as to strike a balance between fairness and legal requirements under Chapter 11.
Financial Support and Future Payments
FTX has accumulated around $11.4 billion in liquid collateral to repay the creditors, a sum supported by rising cryptocurrency prices and tactical asset sales. In October 2024, a U.S. bankruptcy court approved a master plan to disburse between $14.7 billion and $16.5 billion in total amount, with the intent to pay creditors almost in full—about 119%—for their initial holdings. Subsequent distributions, including those for smaller institutional claims and unresolved categories, will be scheduled at later dates.
The Anthropic Stake’s Impact
A notable contributor to FTX’s recovery coffers is the exchange’s 8% stake in Anthropic, the AI safety and research firm. Purchased initially for $500 million, this holding has vastly appreciated in the midst of an AI-investment craze, bolstering the estate’s capacity to meet creditor claims without encroaching on wider liquidation resources. Though FTX halted the sale of its Anthropic stake earlier on in the bankruptcy process, interest in the market—supported by investments from the likes of Amazon—is such that value can likely be realized further through strategic divestment to increase distribution resources.
Looking Ahead: The Path to Complete Recovery
While the FTX Recovery Trust works through legal controversies and asset sales, creditors and spectators alike will be observing carefully. Thanks to strong cash balances, a healthy recovery in markets, and stakes in value-rich growth firms such as Anthropic, FTX’s estate is poised for nearly complete repayment—a fact unheard of for large Chapter 11 bankruptcies. With about 98% of claimants expected to recover full or more-than-full value on their November 2022 positions, this process not only constitutes a case study in messy digital-asset insolvency but also brings redemption to those duped by one of crypto’s most infamous blowups.
