FTX to Begin Second Payout Round to Creditors, Exceeding $5B

The FTX Recovery Trust has announced the start of its second round of distributions under the restructuring plan, with payouts totaling over $5 billion. 

The process begins on May 30, 2025, with funds expected to reach eligible creditors within one to three business days via the selected distribution providers, BitGo and Kraken.

This marks the second phase of repayments, following February’s $1.2 billion disbursement to the first group of creditors. If all claims are filed, total distributions could reach up to $16 billion.

Second Payout Breakdown

FTX’s second round of creditor distributions will follow a court-approved waterfall structure:

• Class 5A Dotcom Customer Entitlement Claims: 72% 
• Class 5B U.S. Customer Entitlement Claims: 54%;
• Classes 6A General Unsecured Claims and 6B Digital Asset Loan Claims: 61% each
• Class 7 Convenience Claims: 120%

Eligible creditors who have completed all formalities will receive funds from their selected provider starting May 30, 2025. 

To qualify for the payout, creditors must:

• Log in to the FTX Customer Portal.
• Complete KYC verification. 
• Submit the required tax forms.
• Select BitGo or Kraken as their distribution provider by the specified deadline.

Asset Recovery Sources

As part of its liquidation process, FTX has been selling off its portfolio of startup investments and token holdings. In March 2024, a court approved the sale of two-thirds of the exchange’s stake in AI startup Anthropic for $884 million, nearly $500 million of which came from Mubadala. 

Other key assets included Solana (SOL) holdings and a stake in Robinhood (HOOD). Altogether, total recoveries have exceeded $14.7 billion, enabling the company to execute its creditor repayment plan.

Related: Three Arrows Capital vs FTX: Court Approves $1.5 Billion Claim

Market Reaction and Criticism

Some community members saw the news as a potential catalyst for market activity. “Fresh powdaaaaaa,” wrote popular trader ICOBeast on X, hinting at a possible uptick in liquidity.

However, a segment of former users has criticized the restructuring plan for calculating payouts based on crypto prices at the time of FTX’s collapse in November 2022. Since then, Bitcoin has surged more than fivefold, significantly impacting the real-world value of returned funds.

At the time of writing, BTC trades above $100,000. According to the approved plan, 98% of creditors will receive approximately 118% of their original claims in cash.

Legal Context

The criminal proceedings against FTX’s former leadership have concluded with a series of convictions:

• Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for misappropriating billions in user funds. 
• Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX Digital Markets co-chief Ryan Salame pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 2 years and 7.5 years, respectively. 
• Other defendants, including co-founder Gary Wang and director of engineering Nishad Singh, received suspended sentences.

Related: Netflix Eyes FTX Meltdown for Next Drama Hit—With Julia Garner as Caroline?