Users were confused by the news that FTX clients would receive between 10% and 25% of the value of the deposited crypto assets. Why did this happen?

Sunil Kavuri, one of the creditors, recently said several other changes are also planned in the reorganization plan. One of the points, which concerns the amount of compensation payments to victims, raised questions in the community.

What is known about the compensation plan

Crypto assets deposited on the platform will be valued at the rate when filing for bankruptcy. Therefore, the actual compensation will be between 10% and 25% of the market value of their cryptocurrency.

FTX shareholders will also receive an additional 18% of the funds confiscated by the U.S. Department of Justice, but no more than $230 million. This became an additional clause on increasing the share of preferred shareholders.

However, many expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the payments, calling it a scam. One user suggested this payment schedule may be because most FTX shareholders are either Sullivan & Cromwell (representing FTX debtors) or Quinn Emanuel’s clients, hired by FTX’s new management, acting as conflicts counsel. Both law firms are working to recover assets from the bankrupt exchange’s clients.

The community speculates on the timing of compensation payments

Work is underway to return funds to account holders affected by the FTX collapse. Amid speculation about the timing of the payments, information appeared on the network that FTX crypto holders could begin receiving payments as early as Sep. 30.

However, this was soon refuted — according to the latest data from the bankruptcy case materials under Chapter 11, the court is still studying a compensation plan.

The court filing shows that the next hearing to approve the restructuring plan is scheduled for Oct. 7. If the court approves the plan, payments for claims under $50,000 could begin in late 2024,
while others will receive compensation during the first half of 2025.

FTT Reacts With Growth

Amid the recent news, FTX has delighted investors. Hoping that the infamous crypto exchange would soon begin returning funds, investors have become more optimistic. Such an event could lead to an influx of $16 billion into the market.

At its peak on Sep. 29, the FTX token (FTT) had gained 113% in a day. By the end of the day, the price had corrected and eventually dropped to $2.11 at the time of writing.

Where did the client funds go?

FTX, once worth $32 billion, used client funds for risky investments through its closely associated hedge fund, Alameda Research. Investigations revealed that the company used client funds to cover losses in other related businesses and finance risky investment deals.

FTX’s colossal budget deficit was discovered after clients requested their money back. After FTX’s bankruptcy, a restructuring procedure was initiated, and processes began to return funds to clients. However, at that time, the exact reasons for the disappearance of funds and where they were sent remained the subject of an investigation. In total, the exchange owes about $9 billion.

Victims are waiting, and the culprits are serving their sentences

FTX’s bankruptcy shook the crypto market and affected the prices of many coins. It also raised concerns among users and regulators about the security and liability of crypto exchanges. In addition to creating a refund plan, the exchange’s top managers are being punished one after another.

Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes related to the management of FTX and client payments. The charges are based on the fact that he allegedly used client funds to support his other businesses, including the trading company Alameda Research. In March, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research CEO, was sentenced to two years in prison and forfeited $11 billion on fraud and money laundering charges. Her active cooperation in the investigation of Bankman-Fried mitigated the verdict. The judge emphasized that the collapse of FTX is one of the most significant financial crimes, and Ellison’s cooperation does not absolve her of responsibility. She admitted her guilt and apologized to the victims.

Following the verdict of the former Alameda CEO, other defendants are now awaiting court decisions: FTX co-founder and CTO Gary Wang, as well as head of engineering Nishad Singh.

Ten years after its collapse, the Mt. Gox crypto exchange finally began paying off creditors. What is the reason for this process, which has dragged on for a decade? 

Let’s dive deep into the chronology of events associated with the fall of one of the once-largest crypto exchanges.

The emergence of Mt. Gox

The history of Mt. Gox goes back to the early days of the crypto industry. It all started in 2010 when developer Jed McCaleb founded the Mt. Gox platform for the Magic: The Gathering game, but then transformed it into a Bitcoin exchange. 

A year later, he sold the platform to developer Mark Karpeles. After the change in management, Mt. Gox quickly became one of the most popular BTC platforms. 

As a result, the first major hacker attack occurred in June 2011. Hackers stole at least 25,000 BTC, or about $400,000, at the time of the attack. Then, the price of Bitcoin on Mt. Gox collapsed from $17 to almost zero.

After the attack, Mt. Gox continued to develop, and in 2013, it processed 70% of all Bitcoin transactions worldwide. However, the exchange faced technical problems that led to a significant increase in transaction processing time.

Internal difficulties and hack of Mt. Gox 

Despite external success, the exchange experienced great internal difficulties. In particular, Mt. Gox had no control over the quality and security of the code. In addition, the project lacked a financial accounting system and control over balances and reserves. Simply put, no one monitored the flow of money and cryptocurrency.

In February 2014, Mt. Gox suddenly stopped Bitcoin withdrawals. The platform team reported that a bug in the Bitcoin code made it possible to effectively double-spend coins, which the attackers used concerning the exchange’s blockchain address. After that, the platform finally stopped all withdrawals.

By the end of the month, the price of Bitcoin on Mt. Gox was only 20% of the average market price, which was a clear indication of investors’ confidence that the project would not be able to solve the problems that had arisen. On Feb. 24, 2014, all trading operations were suspended on the platform, and a few hours later, its website went down.

Later, the exchange team discovered the theft of approximately 750,000 BTC from users, which had gone unnoticed for several years. As a result, Mt. Gox became insolvent — on Feb. 28, 2014, it declared bankruptcy and closure.

The hack extent and the mystery of missing Bitcoins

Hackers attacked Mt. Gox and stole 744,408 BTC belonging to customers and 100,000 BTC belonging to the company. This financial disaster led to the exchange being declared insolvent. Later sources indicated that Mt. Gox had already leaked around 80,000 Bitcoins before Karpeles bought it in 2011.

Many theories have formed around the hack. One popular theory suggests that Mt. Gox never actually had the amount of coins it claimed to have and that Karpeles may have manipulated the data to create the illusion of more bitcoins than it had.

As for how the hackers were able to gain access, some speculate that an internal staff member could have gained access. In contrast, others suggest that BTC from the cold storage was gradually transferred to the Mt. Gox system as the hot wallet was depleted. The lack of proper controls allowed the hackers to siphon the assets undetected.