FTX Debtors to Return 90% of Distributable Value to Customers

In a filing on Monday, October 16, FTX Debtors announced the settlement of customer property disputes as part of its pending Chapter 11 cases. The customer shortfall settlement will be part of the Amended Plan of Reorganization, that FTX plans to file by December 2023.

Subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court, the proposed amended plan anticipates customers globally receiving over 90% of the distributable value. This customer shortfall settlement aims to address the customer property dispute initiated against the FTX Debtors and support the confirmation of the amended plan by the second quarter of 2024.

The underlying customer property litigation contended that users of FTX.com and FTX US held property rights in specific assets, rather than an unsecured claim on par with general creditors. The Customer Shortfall Settlement resolves this dispute by granting customers an unsecured claim against the FTX Debtors with equitable priority over particular segregated or acquired assets.

As per @spreekaway, the Debtors propose a settlement option where you can reimburse 15% of your net withdrawals made within the past 9 days from the date of bankruptcy filing. If your net withdrawals during this period exceed $250,000, you can settle the 15% and they will refrain from pursuing legal action. However, if your net withdrawals in the last 9 days amount to less than $250,000, they will not pursue any legal action against you

Details of the FTX Amended Plan

The Amended Plan closely resembles the Draft Plan initially presented by the FTX Debtors for discussion on July 1, 2023. Under the provisions of the Amended Plan:

1. The FTX Debtors would categorize the bulk of their assets into three distinct pools: assets set aside for the benefit of FTX.com customers, assets reserved for FTX US customers, and a “General Pool” containing other assets.
2. Customers of FTX.com and FTX US would not only possess a claim against the assets held at their respective exchanges but also a “Shortfall Claim” against the General Pool. This Shortfall Claim aligns with the estimated value of assets that are absent from their respective exchanges.
3. Further, the projected Shortfall Claim is estimated at roughly $8.9 billion for FTX.com and $166 million for FTX US.
4. Also, 66% of the General Pool would be exclusively allocated for the settlement of Shortfall Claims. While the remaining 34% would go toward the settlement of any remaining Shortfall Claims and other claims on a proportional basis.

Customer Shortfall Settlement

The recent customer shortfall settlement by FTX comes after months of extensive negotiations by the FTX Debtors. They have also been talking to several stakeholders to come to a common ground. FTX’s new management under John. J. Ray III has been making major efforts toward customer settlements.

All this happens simultaneously with exposing SBF in the recent filing. The developments of the case highlight how SBF recklessly spent customer funds on celebrity promotions and deals. In his testimony on Monday, FTX’s former Head of Engineering, Nishad Singh, also confessed to committing crimes with Sam Bankman-Fried.