The November 2022 Price Basis
Published 7/20/2026, 1:46:21 PM
FTX creditors are receiving payouts based on the USD value of their assets at the time of the bankruptcy filing in November 2022, rather than the current market value of the tokens they originally held. While the estate has achieved a recovery rate exceeding 100% of these 2022 USD claims, the massive appreciation of major cryptocurrencies by July 2026 has resulted in a significant loss of purchasing power for most crypto-native creditors.
The November 2022 Price Basis
The FTX repayment plan "dollarized" all claims based on cryptocurrency prices on November 11, 2022. As of July 2026, the estate has completed five major distribution rounds, returning approximately $10.9 billion to creditors.
- Recovery Rates: Most retail creditors (Convenience Class <$50k) have received a 120% cumulative recovery in USD terms, which includes a 9% annual interest rate to compensate for the time elapsed since the collapse.
- Payout Format: All distributions are made in USD; no "in-kind" (crypto) distributions are being provided.
- Asset Shortfall: A primary reason for this structure is that the estate did not actually hold the assets customers believed they had; at the time of the collapse, the exchange held only 0.1% of the BTC and 1.2% of the ETH it owed to users.
Price Comparison: Opportunity Cost for Creditors
The gap between the 2022 "basis" and July 2026 market prices represents a massive opportunity cost for creditors who held blue-chip assets.
| Asset | Nov 2022 Price (Basis) | July 2026 Price | Appreciation | Creditor Payout (per 1 Unit)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | ~$16,871 | ~$105,400 | +525% | ~$20,245 |
| Solana (SOL) | ~$16.00 | ~$76.89 | +380% | ~$19.20 |
| Ethereum (ETH) | ~$1,258 | ~$3,650 | +190% | ~$1,510 |
| FTT Token | ~$1.50 | ~$0.205 | -86% | ~$1.80 |
*Estimated at 120% of the November 2022 basis.
Winners and Losers
The impact of the repayment plan varies drastically depending on what the creditor held at the time of the collapse:
- The Losers (Crypto Holders): Long-term holders of BTC, SOL, and ETH have effectively lost the upside of the 2024–2026 bull market. A creditor who lost 1 BTC receives roughly $20,245, whereas that same 1 BTC would be worth over $105,000 today. This has led many creditors to label the plan a "second act of theft".
- The Winners (Fiat & Stablecoin Holders): Customers who held USD or stablecoins (like USDC or USDT) are the primary beneficiaries. They receive their full balance plus 20% interest, significantly outperforming traditional savings accounts or inflation over the same period.
- The FTT Exception: Holders of FTX’s native token, FTT, are ironically better off under the bankruptcy plan. Because FTT's market value has collapsed to ~$0.20, receiving a payout based on the $1.50 petition-date price (plus interest) provides a much higher return than holding the actual token.
In summary, while the FTX estate is technically paying back "more than 100%" of what was owed in USD terms, the vast majority of crypto-holding creditors are receiving only a fraction of their original assets' current market value.