FTX creditor representative Sunil Kavuri stated that the bankrupt exchange has now completed three payout rounds totaling approximately $7.1 billion.
The bankruptcy estate of the defunct crypto exchange, which collapsed in November 2022, has reached this significant milestone after nearly three years.
Next Distribution Lined Up for January
According to Kavuri's latest update on X, FTX distributed $454 million on February 18 to claims under $50,000. This was followed by a much larger payout of $5 billion on May 30, which covered both sub-$50,000 and larger claims.
A third tranche amounting to $1.6 billion was paid out on September 30, also covering both claim categories. Kavuri estimated that the total FTX assets are around $16-17 billion. He also indicated that the next distribution round is currently anticipated in January 2026, pending confirmation of a record date in December.
This recent development comes just days after the FTX Recovery Trust withdrew its request to restrict payouts to creditors in nearly 50 foreign jurisdictions, including China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Ukraine. This motion had faced intense backlash from affected creditors. The original motion was filed in July and sought to pause distributions in countries with unclear or restrictive cryptocurrency regulations.
Despite the steady return of funds, the political, legal, and reputational battles surrounding this case have not subsided. The convicted founder of the exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, continues to attempt to influence the narrative from federal prison.
SBF's Continued Narrative Influence
Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried re-entered the bankruptcy conversation to once again question the motives of the bankruptcy estate. He implied that the collapse of FTX was not due to fraud, misappropriation, or reckless leverage, but rather to factors akin to sabotage or bureaucratic obstruction.
Even this week, SBF responded to a satirical post that accused current CEO John J. Ray III of intentionally keeping a "perfectly solvent" platform in bankruptcy solely to generate record professional fees and destroy estate value. Bankman-Fried partially endorsed this claim by stating, "this is basically what happened," despite forensic accountants, prosecutors, and bankruptcy experts repeatedly asserting that this narrative is false and misleading.
His comments immediately provoked a strong reaction. On-chain investigator ZachXBT directly challenged him to explain an alleged $40 million payment to Chinese authorities, which SBF claims he hid from the public and prosecutors. Concurrently, venture capitalist Adam Cochran stated that this ongoing attempt to reframe the collapse demonstrates that SBF remains unrepentant and unwilling to accept responsibility for the damage inflicted upon millions of users.
This controversy followed an incident where Bankman-Fried's previously inactive X account posted a 14-page document asserting that FTX "was never insolvent" and could have possessed a portfolio worth $136 billion today if lawyers had not intervened. Legal experts and former creditors quickly pointed out that this claim closely mirrored arguments that had already been rejected in court throughout 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, forensic audits had traced billions in missing customer funds.