The recent sale of $2.6 billion worth of discounted Solana tokens by the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has raised eyebrows in the crypto community. The sale, which involved prominent buyers like Figure Markets and Pantera Capital, has sparked controversy and discussion among investors and industry experts.
According to undisclosed sources cited by Bloomberg, Figure Markets acquired 800,000 SOL tokens for approximately $80 million during the auctions conducted by FTX. The sources revealed that Figure paid around $102 per token, a significant discount from Solana’s current market price of $166. On the other hand, Pantera Capital also participated in the auctions, although the exact amount paid by the venture capital fund remains unknown.
FTX, a collapsed cryptocurrency firm formerly led by Sam Bankman-Fried, has been selling off its holdings of SOL tokens directly as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. The involvement of major players like Pantera and Figure Markets in these auctions has added a layer of complexity to the already contentious situation.
The sale of Solana tokens by FTX has had far-reaching consequences for investors who lost their funds in the collapse of the exchange. Many users entrusted their assets to FTX, only to see them locked up in bankruptcy proceedings. As a result, they missed out on significant gains, with their funds estimated to have grown to at least $4 million if they had not been caught up in the legal issues surrounding FTX.
FTX has claimed that it will be able to repay creditors in full, along with interest, using the funds generated from the auctions of SOL tokens. However, instead of receiving their crypto assets back, creditors will be reimbursed in US dollars based on the value of their accounts at the time of FTX’s collapse in November 2022. Given the fourfold increase in Bitcoin’s price since then, creditors have missed out on significant gains during one of the most substantial crypto bull runs in recent history.
The sale of discounted Solana tokens by FTX has created a stir in the crypto industry, with investors, creditors, and industry experts closely monitoring the developments. The involvement of major players like Figure Markets and Pantera Capital has added complexity to the controversy surrounding FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings. As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the sale of SOL tokens will impact the wider cryptocurrency market and the future of FTX.