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Though the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried in October closed one chapter in the saga of FTX, the bankruptcy team’s work is far from over.
Having made significant progress in what was at one point described as a “Herculean task” – the recovery of lost and misplaced assets – the cryptocurrency exchange has yet to fully repay customers harmed in its downfall.
As part of its efforts to achieve this goal, FTX is planning to sell approximately $100 million worth of cryptocurrencies each week until the one million creditors are paid back to the greatest extent they can be, per a Forbes report from November 15.
The planned sale, however, is not yet a done deal as certain government regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might attempt to interfere – as they did in the case of Voyager Digital’s bankruptcy.
Still, the SEC failed in its intervention in the case of Voyager, and should FTX be allowed to proceed, the massive sale is likely to have a notable impact on the market.
Therefore, the bankruptcy team’s plans raise the question, which tokens are likely to be the most affected by the sale of $100 million worth of cryptocurrencies each week?
FTX’s largest crypto holdings
As Finbold already reported, the first cryptocurrency likely to face downward pressure is Solana (SOL). FTX has approximately 10% of SOL’s total supply – worth more than $3.3 billion – and is the single largest cryptocurrency holding of the bankrupt exchange.
The company’s second and third largest holdings come in the form of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) – $742 million and $226 million respectively. On the plus side, the sale of the two cryptocurrencies isn’t likely to send shockwaves across the market as FTX’s BTC and ETH represent approximately 0.1% of their total circulating supply.
Finally, other major cryptocurrencies to look out for when it comes to FTX’s plans are Aptos (APT) and XRP. The bankrupt exchange holds about $180 million worth of the former and $143 million of the latter.
While the notion of a major firm offloading $100 million worth of cryptocurrency onto the market each week sounds alarming, FTX’s sale of Solana so far demonstrates that the effect it will have on the price of cryptocurrencies is likely to be limited.
Despite FTX moving approximately $100 million worth of SOL in the 10 days learning up to November 3, the sale had little effect on the token’s spectacular rally as it had, by November 15, soared well above $60.
Looking at another example, the U.S. government’s sale of 49,000 BTC that it had seized from the Silk Road in 2021 and 2022 sparked similar concerns over the possible impact on the price but was hardly felt by the market.
The cryptocurrency values mentioned in this article reflect market prices as of the time of publication and are subject to change. They are also based on the latest available filings detailing FTX’s cryptocurrency holdings.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.