- FTX has $5.5 billion in liquid assets, according to John Ray III
- The FTX debtors revealed in a creditors meeting and subsequent press release that $1.7 billion this is cash and $3.5 billion in cryptocurrencies
- There still remains a “substantial shortfall” compared to what the exchange owes
Collapsed exchange FTX has identified a total of $5.5 billion in liquid assets with which to repay creditors, but still faces a “substantial shortfall” from what it owes them. News of the recouped total was provided via a press release yesterday, following an update given to a federal bankruptcy court last week which said that over $5 billion of cash, liquid cryptocurrency, and other liquid investments belonging to the company had been found, along with $4.6 billion in non-strategic illiquid investments.
FTX Holds $3.5 Billion in Crypto
The press release revealed that both the international and U.S. entities of FTX owned $1.7 billion in cash, $3.5 billion in cryptocurrencies, and $0.3 billion of securities. John Ray III, the parachuted-in head of FTX who is overseeing the investigation of its funds, called the effort to locate and obtain the funds “herculean” and said that his team was “making important progress” in its efforts to maximize recoveries.
He also warned that the information being provided is still “preliminary and subject to change”, with more provided when it becomes known.
“Substantial Shortfall” Won’t Easily be Met
The financial situation will have been helped by the recent jump in the crypto market, which has seen an 18% increase in the total market cap. While the news that bankruptcy officials have found $5.5 billion may seem like great news, it must be remembered that FTX had over one million customers and owes just its top 50 creditors around $3 billion.
Clearly, this $2.5 billion surplus will not cover the remaining creditors by any stretch of the imagination, so customers will be hoping that more assets can be recovered over time.
