FTX to Auction Next Batch of Locked Solana Tokens: Figure Markets CEO

Figure Markets CEO Mike Cagney said he had received confirmation that the next round of the FTX estate’s locked SOL sales would take place via an auction, with more details to come on Monday.

The FTX bankruptcy estate could be looking to get the best price for the remainder of their locked Solana (SOL) tokens via an auction rather than a fixed market price.

In a post on X, Mike Cagney, CEO of crypto exchange Figure Markets said he had received confirmation that the next round of locked SOL would be sold in an auction with exact details around it to come on April 22.

Just got confirmation that the next round of locked #solana coins from the #FTX estate will be an auction, with exact details coming Monday. If you want in, join us. https://t.co/RuA41vgWAx

— Mike Cagney (@mcagney) April 20, 2024

Figure Markets invited members of the community to join them as they compete in the SOL auctions, saying they intend to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that both non-US investors and accredited US investors will be eligible to participate in.

The SPV will operate using community consensus with $1 equating to one vote on bid price, with investments in US dollars, USDC, bitcoin and ether welcome. 

FTX initiated selling off its $7.5 billion stash of locked SOL last month, with one firm noting that it had acquired 26,964 SOL for a price of $64 per token, representing a 67% discount to its market value at the time.

The discounted SOL sales has been a particular point of concern for some FTX creditors, who feel they have been dealt the short end of the stick when it comes to creditor repayments. 

The shift towards an auction-based system to facilitate these sales was welcomed by Sunil Kavuri, an FTX “creditor activist” who has been the voice of displeased FTX creditors with Sullivan & Cromwell’s (the law firm handling FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings) treatment of the exchange’s assets on a number of occasions.

According to Kavuri, Figure Markets’ Cagney has created a way for creditors to participate in these sales with a minimum investment of $5,000 as opposed to the $5 million that would be required if buying directly from FTX.

“It’s not right for FTX to sell our property. Any value S&C [Sullivan & Cromwell] and co-conspirators have destroyed for FTX creditors, they are being sued for through our class actions. This value is at current prices not their BS petition date pricing lies,” said Kavuri on X.