The Defunct Exchange FTX Starts Repaying Its Victims

The long-awaited refunds from FTX officially began on February 18, 2025, at 15:00 UTC, with already 800 million dollars distributed to 162,000 accounts. Many users confirm having received their funds through the Kraken platform.

FTX repays its creditors

FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamas subsidiary of the bankrupt exchange, today launched its first wave of refunds as planned. Of the 1.2 billion dollars set aside for this first phase, 800 million have already been distributed across 162,000 different accounts.

Kraken, the exchange platform chosen by FTX, is currently processing the fund payouts. Many users have already confirmed the receipt of their refunds there. Sunil, a member of the FTX Customer Ad-Hoc Committee representing over 1,500 creditors, clarified that this first phase only concerns creditors claiming less than 50,000 dollars.

These refunds come more than two years after the spectacular collapse of FTX, which had resulted in estimated losses of 9 billion dollars. The bankruptcy of the exchange and its 130 subsidiaries had triggered a chain reaction in the industry, plunging the crypto market into one of the most severe “crypto winters” in its history, with Bitcoin plummeting to as low as 16,000 dollars.

Impact and outlook for the crypto market

Alvin Kan, operations director at Bitget Wallet, anticipates a significant impact on the market. “Investors will likely reinvest a large portion of the 1.2 billion dollars into cryptocurrencies, which will boost market liquidity and influence the prices of digital assets,” he states.

The method of calculating refunds, however, has sparked fierce criticism within the crypto community. FTX is reimbursing its creditors at the prices of November 2022, a time when Bitcoin was valued 80% lower than today. The value of the leading crypto has since surged by over 370%, creating a considerable gap between the amount of refunds and the current value of lost assets.

Magdalena Hristova, head of public relations at Nexo, emphasizes that while this first refund will not serve as a major catalyst for the market, it still represents a significant victory for investor confidence.

For many smallholders, particularly those who did not diversify their investments, these refunds provide not only a financial return but also a regained sense of security.

The repayment process will continue in the months to come, with larger creditors still waiting for clarification on the handling of their claims. This first phase, of which two-thirds have already been executed, concretely marks the beginning of a long process of rebuilding trust in the crypto ecosystem.