FTX Customers Anticipate Payoff as Anthropic Shares Set for Sale

• The U.S. bankruptcy court greenlights FTX’s Anthropic share sale.
• FTX to repay all affected customers using Nov. 2022 crypto prices, tapping into $6.4B in cash reserves for settlements.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey in Wilmington, Delaware, has granted approval for FTX to sell its stake in Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company, marking a significant move for the cryptocurrency exchange’s post-collapse recovery.

FTX’s initial $500 million investment in the AI-developing start-up Anthropic in 2021 secured them a 13.56% equity stake, which has since been diluted to 7.84% due to subsequent fundraising rounds, including a notable $4 billion investment from Amazon.com. 

Despite opposition from some FTX customers who contested the ownership of the Anthropic shares, a compromise was reached in court, allowing the sale to proceed while reserving the right to argue ownership of the proceeds at a later date. 

With $6.4 billion in cash reserves, FTX aims to repay all customers affected by its 2022 collapse based on cryptocurrency prices as of November 2022, marking progress in its commitment to settle obligations and navigate through bankruptcy proceedings.

Additionally, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is set for sentencing on March 28th, having recently enlisted a new legal team.