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IRS tax bill will swipe creditors of any ‘meaningful recovery,’ says FTX

FTX Trading said the firm “never earned anything anywhere near the amount” that would justify a $24 billion tax bill.

A proposed $24 billion tax bill from the United State IRS will likely suck up any “meaningful recovery” that was meant for victims of FTX, according to the bankrupt crypto exchange. 

The United States tax authority has been trying to chase tax arrears from the crypto exchange and its sister firm Alameda Research since May this year. The IRS initially claimed $44 billion across 45 separate claims against FTX and its subsidiaries in May. 10, but recently brought that number down to $24 billion.

However, in a Dec. 10 filing to a Delaware-based bankruptcy court, FTX said the claims put forth by the Internal Revenue Service were “meritless” and would also impact the funds meant to reimburse impacted FTX users.

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Crypto exchange FTX gets nod to sell $873M of assets to repay creditors

Nearly $700 million of the $873 million trust assets allowed to be sold by FTX comes from Grayscale’s flagship product, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC.

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has been given the green light to sell around $873 million of trust assets, with proceeds used to repay creditors impacted by the exchange’s collapse in 2022, according to a Nov. 29 filing in a Delaware bankruptcy court.

The $873 million in assets will be sourced from FTX’s stakes in various trusts issued by crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments, valued at $807 million, and custody service provider Bitwise — valued at $66 million.

While the court document references a total of $744 million in assets — this is due to the valuation figure being as of Oct. 25, 2023. The assets have increased in value since. 

Order authorizing FTX Trading to sell trust assets. Source: Kroll

The approval comes nearly four weeks after FTX debtors filed a motion to Judge John Dorsey on Nov. 3 requesting the sale of the six cryptocurrency trusts — including the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), and Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW).

FTX currently owns over 22 million units of GBTC, Grayscale’s flagship Bitcoin product, now worth $691 million, while its 6.3 million shares of ETHE are now worth around $106 million.

Grayscale’s Ethereum Classic Trust (ETCG), Litecoin Trust (LTCN) and Digital Large Cap Trust (GDLC) are the three other trusts that FTX can now sell to recoup funds for impacted FTX customers.

FTX's shares in Grayscale and Bitwise were worth $744 million as of Oct. 25, but the valued has increased since. Source: Kroll

FTX’s administrators, headed by John. J Ray III, has been working to recover assets since Sam Bankman-Fried’s former empire collapsed in November 2022.

So far, around $7 billion in assets has been recovered, with nearly half of that coming in the form of cryptocurrencies ($3.4 billion).

In June, FTX’s debtors estimated the total amount of customer assets misappropriated was $8.7 billion.

Related: FTX Foundation staffer fights for $275K bonus promised by SBF

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven fraud-related charges on Nov. 2 and is set to be sentenced on March 28.

He remains in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center for the time being, where he recently paid four mackerels in exchange for a haircut.

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FTX Discovers $5.5B in Liquid Assets — Debtors Explore Ways to Maximize Recovery via Potential Sale of Subsidiaries, Real Estate

FTX Discovers .5B in Liquid Assets — Debtors Explore Ways to Maximize Recovery via Potential Sale of Subsidiaries, Real EstateOn Jan. 17, 2023, FTX Trading Ltd. and affiliated debtors updated the public and detailed that the firm’s current administrators have discovered $5.5 billion of liquid assets to date. Top-level executives, including the new FTX CEO and chief restructuring officer, John J. Ray III, met with the bankruptcy case’s committee of unsecured creditors to share […]

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