Creditors have filed motions in the bankruptcy court, urging for their claims to be estimated based on both virtual assets and fiat currencies. They propose using a digital asset conversion table to ensure they receive the full value of their assets. In the motion, debtors have requested the court to approve a digital asset conversion table for assessing claims, including customer rights claims, as part of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.
As the bankruptcy proceedings of FTX continue, the administrators are pushing for a method that values assets based on their prices in 2022, when the bankruptcy was filed. This approach aims to pay creditors the legal value of their assets at that time. However, this method prevents creditors from benefiting from the current increased valuations of cryptocurrencies, which have seen significant growth since 2022 due to massive institutional inflows.
The cryptocurrency market has experienced a remarkable surge in value since the bear market of 2022, which was marked by industry collapses and macroeconomic factors. Assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) have seen their values more than double since December 2022. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors supports the creditors' motion, advocating for a collective estimation of claims.
The creditor group argues that if the court deems cryptocurrency deposits as not part of the estate property, they should be returned to clients in their original form and not used for other estate expenses. They believe that resolving claims on digital assets quickly is crucial, emphasizing that these claims should be based on the underlying assets rather than fiat conversions.
FTX, however, has countered these claims, arguing that U.S. bankruptcy law permits them to use the bankruptcy filing date to estimate claims. They have filed a motion in bankruptcy court claiming the need for a fair and reasonable method to cover claims, asserting that it is the most practical approach. This stance has drawn criticism from the broader cryptocurrency community, who argue that it unfairly deprives asset holders of the gains made over the past year.
