FTX Will Get A Return Of IDR 3.5 Trillion From The Legal Dispute With Bybit

FTX will receive a refund of IDR 3.5 trillion from a legal dispute with Bybit (Photo; Doc. Haberler)

JAKARTA - FTX, a crypto exchange that was once king in the market before being caught in a bankruptcy scandal, after nearly two years of struggling to recover assets and resolve legal disputes, finally reached an agreement of 228 million US Dollars (Rp 3.5 trillion) with Bybit. This deal is expected to help FTX in returning funds to its creditors.

The agreement, described in court documents dated October 24, is the result of a lawsuit filed by FTX to regain assets for its former customers and creditors. In this agreement, FTX plans to regain 175 million US Dollars (Rp2.7 trillion) in the form of digital assets currently stored on the Bybit platform, as well as selling 52.7 million US Dollars (Rp830 billion) in BIT tokens to Mirana Corp, an investment entity affiliated with Bybit.

FTX stated that this agreement is a "most profitable" step for all parties and is more promising than continuing the litigation that can drain the resources needed to pay creditors. FTX also asked for a waiver of the 14-day waiting period which usually applies to asset distribution so that the process can be accelerated. A court hearing scheduled for 14.00 East Time on November 20, 2024, will determine the fate of this agreement.

FTX filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2022 after a drastic collapse. As part of a strategy to recover assets, the bankruptcy estate filed several lawsuits. One of these lawsuits was filed exactly one year after the crypto exchange went bankrupt, with demands of US$1 billion (Rp15.7 trillion) from Bybit and Mirana.

The FTX Estate alleges that Bybit took advantage of a VIP access to FTX to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funds and assets, even after the crypto exchange stopped recalling other users. They also claim that Bybit is holding estate assets on its platform, effectively holding them hostage as a "host".

The deal comes after approval of the FTX bankruptcy plan on October 7, confirming that the exchange's debtors will return 98% of the total user claims with cash payments of about 118% of their claims. FTX estimates the total recovery of between 14.7 billion US Dollars (Rp231 trillion) and 16.5 billion (Rp260 trillion), largely coming from assets restored from various entities, including the US Department of Justice and foreign regulators.