Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) beforehand argued that FTX may have recovered worth if property got time to recuperate, and now he has acquired recent proof of that declare within the type of SpaceX’s multi-billion-dollar cope with Cursor.
A 5% stake within the AI startup Cursor price $200,000 in 2023, however now, following a brand new $60 billion cope with SpaceX, the identical 5% stake is price $3 billion.
How a lot did FTX promote its Cursor stake for?
In April 2022, Alameda Analysis, the buying and selling agency based by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the corporate behind the AI coding instrument Cursor. That funding purchased them about 5% of the corporate.
Quick ahead one yr, and FTX had collapsed, and the chapter court docket was in charge of the corporate. In April 2023, the FTX chapter property bought that 5% stake for a similar quantity Alameda had paid a yr earlier: $200,000.
Nevertheless, SpaceX introduced a serious partnership with Cursor right this moment. Below the deal, SpaceX has an possibility to purchase your entire firm for $60 billion; in the event that they select to not, they may pay $10 billion for the partnership.
Based mostly on that $60 billion valuation, the 5% stake that FTX bought for $200,000 would now be price about $3 billion, representing a 15,000x return.
Why does this matter for the incarcerated SBF?
Sam Bankman-Fried is at present in jail however stays lively on social media. He has been preventing for a pardon, arguing that FTX was not actually bancrupt and that the chapter legal professionals destroyed worth by promoting property too shortly.
In February 2026, SBF shared a chart suggesting FTX may have reached a internet asset worth of $78 billion after asset costs recovered if the corporate had not been pressured out of business.
Crypto lawyer John Deaton dismissed these claims on the time, saying projected values don’t change the truth that prospects misplaced cash, and that the court docket had already dominated on the case.
Now, with the Cursor deal, it’s arduous to agree that the legal professionals maximized worth three years in the past.
SBF’s mother and father have additionally been lively in pushing for a pardon, showing on CNN earlier this yr in March to argue that FTX prospects bought their a refund.
Collectors identified that the repayments are primarily based on 2022 costs, not present market values. A buyer who had one Bitcoin bought paid primarily based on Bitcoin’s $16,800 worth in November 2022.
President Trump has mentioned he won’t pardon SBF, and prediction markets at present put the prospect of a 2026 pardon at solely 5%, however SBF appears decided to maintain pushing his model of occasions regardless.
