Implications of the FTX and Alameda Situation for Cryptocurrency and Regulation

[FP91G]

The U.S. government's claim for $24 billion in unpaid taxes from FTX has only one source – taking cash away from its victims, the bankrupt crypto exchange said in a court filing Sunday.
The filing disputed the amount claimed and also said there are no other sources of cash. Unless a judge rejects the Internal Revenue Service's demand, the victims of the FTX fraud will not get any meaningful recovery. The case is scheduled to be heard later Tuesday.
"This Alice in Wonderland argument has no support in the law," the filing said. "There is simply no basis to support the IRS’s meritless claims that the Debtors owe tax in an amount that is orders of magnitude greater than any income the Debtors ever earned and that would effectively prevent most of FTX’s creditors – themselves victims of fraud – from obtaining any meaningful recovery."
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/12/12/ftx-disputes-irss-alice-in-wonderland-tax-claim/

[zasad@]

The U.S. government's claim for $24 billion in unpaid taxes from FTX has only one source – taking cash away from its victims, the bankrupt crypto exchange said in a court filing Sunday.
The filing disputed the amount claimed and also said there are no other sources of cash. Unless a judge rejects the Internal Revenue Service's demand, the victims of the FTX fraud will not get any meaningful recovery. The case is scheduled to be heard later Tuesday.
"This Alice in Wonderland argument has no support in the law," the filing said. "There is simply no basis to support the IRS’s meritless claims that the Debtors owe tax in an amount that is orders of magnitude greater than any income the Debtors ever earned and that would effectively prevent most of FTX’s creditors – themselves victims of fraud – from obtaining any meaningful recovery."
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/12/12/ftx-disputes-irss-alice-in-wonderland-tax-claim/

Initially, the amount was greater; 24 billion is a reduced amount.
I can only comment on this news in a way that makes it clear to everyone.
The US government tells the FTX exchange: “Let the creditors continue to wait for their payments. They invested and therefore assessed their risks, so they will remain unpaid. Pay the money to the US budget, it is needed there more.”

[safar1980]

FTX loses $53K every hour on ‘bankruptcy fees,’ latest filings show
In the three months ending Oct. 31, defunct crypto exchange FTX has been burning through approximately $53,000 every hour on bankruptcy lawyers and advisers, the latest round of compensation filings show.

Court filings from Dec. 5 to Dec. 16 show that the bankruptcy lawyers have charged at least $118.1 million between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31. Over the 92 days, this amounts to $1.3 million per day or $53,300 per hour. 

The largest bill came from the management consulting firm Alvarez and Marshall, which charged $35.8 million for its services for the three months.

[zasad@]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ftx-files-plan-end-bankruptcy-021449836.html
"The reorganization plan left some of the most important questions unanswered, including whether FTX will restart its defunct crypto exchange, how the company will estimate the value of some digital tokens and how much creditors can expect to get back.

Next year, the plan will be sent to creditors for a vote — likely with key details added — before it goes to US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey for final approval. The major creditor and customer groups that have been involved in the Chapter 11 case have agreed to the broad outlines of the plan.

The payout plan calls for billions of dollars to be distributed as cash after much of the firm’s cryptocurrencies have been liquidated.

Last month, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of orchestrating a massive fraud that led to the collapse of his FTX exchange."

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1. The US Treasury claims a large share of the budget
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5420536.msg63323427#msg63323427

2. Another interesting point is that it is not yet clear at what rates the money will be returned to creditors, but most likely not at the rate at which they invested. And it is unclear how much will remain after tax penalties.

[zasad@]

https://www.theblock.co/post/290002/ftx-to-sell-next-lot-of-locked-solana-tokens-at-auction
FTX to auction next lot of locked Solana tokens: Mike Cagney
"The next sale of FTX’s stockpile of locked Solana will take the form of an auction, likely because of high demand from buyers.
Following the estate's sale of $1.9 billion worth of Solana tokens to industry firms such as Galaxy Digital and Pantera, the next sale will be an auction, according to Figure CEO Mike Cagney. Exact details of the sale have not yet been revealed and FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "

[zasad@]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-07/ftx-has-billions-more-than-needed-to-repay-bankruptcy-victims
FTX Has Billions More Than Needed to Pay Bankruptcy Victims
"Crypto customers to get interest on what FTX owes them
Bankrupt firm updates plan to divide cash among creditors
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has amassed billions of dollars more than it needs to cover what customers lost in its November 2022 collapse, setting them up to receive full recoveries, plus interest, a rare outcome in US bankruptcy proceedings.

Lower-ranking creditors typically receive just pennies on the dollar for their holdings, but FTX benefitted from a strong rally in cryptocurrencies including Solana, a token heavily backed by convicted fraudster and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The company has also sold dozens of other assets, including various venture-capital projects like a stake in the artificial-intelligence company Anthropic."

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Why is SBF in prison?
It was already clear that not everyone would receive a refund.