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FTX Had $1.24 Billion on Hand When It Filed for Bankruptcy

Creditors and customers of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange might have a small reason to hope to recover some of their money.
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Here's something from which the creditors and customers of FTX, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov., 11, might draw small comfort:

The cryptocurrency exchange and a number of its affiliates had $1.24 billion in cash on the balance sheet when the firm filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents produced by Alvarez & Marsal North America, one of the advisers hired to help restructure Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire. 

Alameda Research, the hedge fund and trading platform that Bankman-Fried founded, had nearly $401 million on its balance sheet, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

FTX recently revealed that its top 50 creditors are seeking $3 billion in claims. The insolvent company released the amount of the claims of each of the top creditors but did not name them or disclose any information about their headquarters.

The exchange founded by the former billionaire owes about $1.45 billion to its top 10 creditors. Again, none of the creditors was named, but the one with the largest claim is $226 million, followed by $203 million and $174 million. The fourth and fifth claims were for $159 million and $130 million.

FTX could have as many as one million investors who are seeking to recoup their losses. The Bahamas-based brokerage filed for bankruptcy after facing massive liquidity issues when rival Binance backed out of a merger.

"In fact, there could be more than one million creditors in these Chapter 11 Cases," according to the Nov. 15 filing. 

Investors in FTX, which was a popular exchange for digital assets and was once valued at $32 billion, are likely facing total losses.

The company plans to sell or reorganize some of its businesses, John Ray, its chief restructuring officer and new CEO, said on Nov. 19.

You can read a timeline of the FTX debacle here.

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