- A former FTX user inadvertently transferred 2,000 Solana (SOL) tokens to his old FTX account nearly a year after the exchange’s collapse
- The user is now seeking legal avenues to recover the funds, which is how the case has come to light
- The value of the coins has shot up over six times since his error
A former FTX user in Prague, Czech Republic, who accidentally sent 2,000 SOL tokens to his old FTX account, has been forced to launch legal action to recover them. In October 2023, nearly a year after FTX’s bankruptcy, former user Lukas Bartusek accidentally deposited 2,000 SOL tokens into his defunct FTX account. At the time of the deposit, these tokens were valued at approximately $64,000, but a surge in value to nearly $400,000 has led to Bartusek pursuing legal measures to retrieve his assets, highlighting the difficulties former FTX clients continue to face in reclaiming their funds.
Bankruptcy Laws Complicate Bartusek’s Efforts
Bartusek made his critical error in October 2023, almost a year after FTX’s dramatic implosion, when he accidentally sent the 2,000 SOL tokens to his old FTX address. Had FTX been a live exchange, he may have had some joy, but the fact that it was instead in the middle of complicated bankruptcy dealings made his retrieval job a hundred times harder.
Once an exchange files for bankruptcy, all assets held by the company—including user deposits—are usually pooled into the bankruptcy estate. This means any new funds mistakenly sent to the exchange after it has collapsed become part of this estate, making it difficult (if not impossible) for users to retrieve them. With the coins growing in value significantly, Bartusek has clearly considered that the cost and hassle of legal action are worth the potential return and is now seeking a court order to reclaim his assets from the FTX bankruptcy estate.
Check Your Sending Address!
Barutsek’s position is not helped by the fact that he is a Czech citizen who now has to navigate the U.S. bankruptcy system in order to get his coins back. Even if he can prove the coins are his, the judge might rule that they belong to the FTX estate, rendering the whole enterprise pointless.
If there’s a more stark example of why you should always check the address you’re sending to, we’re yet to see it.
Good luck, Lukas!
