FTX Will Auction Off the Rest of Its Locked Solana Tokens

The bankruptcy estate of defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX has decided to offer its remaining locked Solana (SOL) tokens at auction in hopes of recovering a higher market price than through direct sales. The news was first announced by Mike Cagney, CEO of crypto exchange Figure Markets, on Twitter.

The auction represents a shift from previous token liquidation methods, which involved selling at fixed market prices. Last month, FTX began offloading its $7.5 billion stash of locked SOL tokens, often at a significant discount. For instance, one transaction recorded a sale of 26,964 SOL at $64 per token, a 67% markdown from the market value at the time.

Figure Markets, which is actively participating in the auctions, is setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to allow both non-U.S. investors and accredited U.S. investors to participate. The SPV will enable community-based decision-making on bid prices, where $1 equals one vote. Interested parties can invest using U.S. dollars, USDC, Bitcoin, and Ether.

Last summer, FTX appointed Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz as its investment manager and charged him with overseeing the sale of $3.4 billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and several other cryptocurrencies.

Pantera, the $5.2 billion asset manager, was raising money for a Pantera Solana Fund to buy up to $250 million of SOL from the FTX estate in early March. Later that month, Vancouver-based Neptune Digital Assets Corp. announced on March 27 that it bought 26,964 SOL for $1.7 million.

The transition to an auction-based sale method has been well-received by some FTX creditors, particularly those who felt disadvantaged by the previous fixed-price sales.

Suni Kavuri, an activist and vocal critic representing some of the creditors, praised the new approach for providing a more accessible entry point for smaller investors. The minimum investment is set at $5,000, compared to the previous $5 million threshold for direct purchases.

Kavuri has been a staunch opponent of how Sullivan & Cromwell—the law firm overseeing FTX's bankruptcy proceedings—has managed the exchange's assets. He argues that the firm's valuation methods have substantially undervalued them, thus harming the creditors' potential recovery.

Kavuri's grievances are part of a broader class-action lawsuit against those involved in managing FTX's bankruptcy estate, seeking reparation for the perceived diminishment of the creditors' assets.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.