According to a revelation from sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the FTX estate has effectively liquidated $1.9 billion by selling off a large portion of solana (SOL), including tokens that were delayed in becoming available because of a vesting schedule.
Sources Claiming FTX Offered Millions of Restricted Solana Tokens at a Significant Discount
It is reported that the defunct organization that was formerly known as FTX cryptocurrency exchange gave important investors access to 25–30 million SOL tokens that were locked up. Bloomberg first reported this development, citing people with knowledge of the transaction’s inception. Through this calculated sale of Solana tokens, the FTX estate allegedly made $1.9 billion.
Notable parties to the transaction included Pantera Capital and Galaxy Trading. Taking into account the $1.9 billion raised in total, it is estimated that investors paid $64 for each SOL. This stands in contrast to the weighted global average of SOL, which costs currently $174 per unit. Crucially, there is a four-year vesting timeline attached to these SOL coins. “Unlocks are monthly over 4 years with a bullet after 12 months,” clarified Vinny Lingham of Civic.
Even before Solana’s network launch, Sam Bankman-Fried, a former FTX founder and inmate of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), and his group had shown anticipation for SOL. FTX and Alameda Research were able to obtain a substantial quantity of SOL tokens, even though they had a locked-up vesting period.
The cryptocurrency SOL saw a 5.9% weekly fall and a 7% drop in the last day of trading, indicating difficulties with the market performance this week. In spite of this, monthly data shows a 36% rise for SOL, and compared to the US dollar, it has gained 737% in the last year. Sunil Kuvari, an FTX creditor, voiced his displeasure with the lowered price established by the FTX estate following the disclosure of the SOL deal.
Kuvari wrote on the social media site X, “Bloomberg reported what I said at SBF Sentencing.” Two thirds of our $2.6 billion Solana was sold by Sullivan and Cromwell for $64—a staggering 62% reduction to $172. Galaxy, the required seller, purchased the majority on their own. Galaxy is [Sullivan and Cromwell’s] client. For FTX creditors, this has destroyed billions of worth.
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