Where Did FTX’s $138 Billion Go? The Shocking Math Behind the Bankruptcy

FTX: Where Did the Money Go — And Who Took Control

When FTX collapsed in November 2022, over seven million users had deposited roughly $20 billion. The exchange froze withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy, leaving an $8 billion customer hole. For years, creditors waited—until 2025, when the estate announced full repayments of 119-143% of claims.
Ironically, the company was never truly insolvent; it suffered a liquidity crisis, not a balance-sheet failure.

The Missed Path

Court filings show that as of the bankruptcy date, FTX still held $14.6 billion in assets—enough to repay users in-kind.
These included:

$5.5 B in cash & liquid crypto

$4.6 B in venture investments

$3.7 B in illiquid tokens

Real estate + subsidiaries worth ≈ $0.4 B

Had withdrawals resumed and assets not been seized, customers could have been made whole by late 2022.

By September 2025 valuations, those same holdings would exceed $136 billion—with massive exposure to winners like Anthropic ($14.3 B), Solana ($12.4 B), FTT ($21.9 B), and Robinhood ($7.6 B). In short, the estate that’s now distributing ~$18 B could have been worth nearly eight times that.

What Went Wrong

According to the document, once external counsel Sullivan & Cromwell (S&C) and attorney John J. Ray III took control on Nov 11 2022, the company was placed into a Delaware bankruptcy—despite FTX still processing withdrawals and negotiating liquidity deals.
Within hours, the exchange was shut down, staff fired, and S&C retained as bankruptcy counsel.

The report alleges that these lawyers had incentives to push for bankruptcy because fees would then be paid directly from the estate.
To date, nearly $950 million in legal and consulting fees have been approved, with another $450 million reserved—making the FTX case one of the costliest since Lehman.

Narrative Control

Publicly, Ray and S&C portrayed FTX as “hopelessly insolvent,” using early statements that allegedly misrepresented its balance sheet.
Prosecutors in Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial echoed that framing, citing liabilities while ignoring offsetting assets.
Documents show that even in 2022, Alameda and FTX together held $25 B in assets against $13 B in liabilities, remaining solvent on paper.

The report suggests that calling it a “dumpster fire” justified shutting down operations and liquidating holdings at depressed prices—often to insiders or below market value.

Value Erosion

If Ray’s team had simply frozen operations and waited, the estate might now hold $136 B in assets and $111 B in net value. Instead, after sales, fees, and settlements, less than $18 B remains.

Key losses cited:
FTX Equity: $66.4 B
FTT Token: $21.9 B
Anthropic Stake: $12.9 B
Solana: $9.1 B
Robinhood: $7.0 B
Sui: $2.8 B
Legal & Consultancy Fees: $1.4 B
Government Claims & Settlements: $16.9 B
Total Losses    ≈ $138 B of value destroyed

The Core Argument

The 25-page document—authored by Sam Bankman-Fried and team—asserts that FTX was solvent throughout, and that its collapse was worsened by the lawyers’ intervention, asset fire sales, and self-serving incentives.

Critics note that this framing may absolve FTX leadership of negligence, yet the underlying math shows something undeniable: the assets were real, the prices recovered, and the bankruptcy process itself may have consumed most of the potential upside.

Today

Customers are finally being repaid—but in USD, not crypto. A user owed 1 BTC in 2022 will receive ~$17 K, even though Bitcoin now trades near $114 K. Equity investors who put in $1.95 B get back ~$230 M.

So yes, everyone’s “made whole,” but only in a narrow legal sense. In real terms, the FTX estate may have burned over $120 B in potential value.