admin More than two years after its spectacular collapse, FTX’s bankruptcy estate has already returned over $16 billion toward customer claims—but roughly $2.25 billion remains tangled in dispute. As a second wave of payouts rolled out on May 30, a significant slice of that pot is still on hold.
“Current allowed claims: $7.5 billion. Total estimated claims: $10.6 billion. Thirty percent are disputed—legitimate ones will get cleared,” wrote Sunil, a member of the Customer Ad-Hoc Committee, in an X post on June 11.
Those figures track closely with U.S. court filings showing FTX has amassed between $14.7 billion and $16.5 billion to distribute to creditors as of late June 2024 reuters.com.
What’s Pending?
- Second-round payouts delivered more than $5 billion in digital assets to users who finished the required paperwork.
- But $2.25 billion—about 30% of the total—remains under formal objection, according to Sunil’s committee estimate.
- The FTX estate has set aside $6.5 billion in reserves for these contested claims, which are slated for the next distribution run.
“I expect most disputed claims to clear in the upcoming round,” Sunil told Reuters, though he cautioned that Chinese creditors—who represent 8% of all claims—face additional delays “until we secure a distribution partner equipped to handle payouts in China.” reuters.com.
KYC Roadblocks
For some smaller creditors, Know-Your-Customer hurdles have become a showstopper:
“Any info on Bahamas KYC pending? No response for five months,” tweeted user Big Penger on June 11.
Another creditor, Sal Wins, reported repeated requests to document his income source—despite a claim under $5,000—calling the process “an interrogation” that’s “hard to follow.” cointelegraph.com.
New Distribution Partner
Just as the first payouts went out, FTX added Payoneer as its third distribution service—joining BitGo and Kraken—to speed up cross-border transfers for retail customers in over 190 countries. With three providers now onboard, the estate hopes to resolve lingering KYC and payment-routing snags before the next tranche.
Why It Matters
If and when these disputed $2.25 billion clear, it could unlock a fresh wave of liquidity for thousands of FTX users—and mark another milestone in winding down what was once the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange. Until then, creditors will be watching each filing and KYC email closely, inching toward the long-promised full recovery.
