The FTX Collapse and Repayments Explained: Dates, Amounts and Lessons

FTX, once one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on 11 November 2022 after it could no longer meet customer withdrawals. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven fraud and conspiracy counts on 2 November 2023 and sentenced to 25 years in prison on 28 March 2024, while the estate recovered roughly $14.7 billion to $16.5 billion against about $11.2 billion in claims and began repaying creditors on 18 February 2025. The FTX Recovery Trust is still paying out in 2026, with a fifth distribution of about $900 million set for 31 July 2026.

What happened to FTX?

FTX was a Bahamas-headquartered exchange that collapsed in November 2022 when a rush of withdrawals revealed customer funds had been moved to its sister trading firm, Alameda Research. It filed for Chapter 11 on 11 November 2022 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Because the estate held far less of the underlying crypto than customers believed, repayments are made in US dollars rather than in the original coins.

FTX ran two main businesses: FTX.com for international customers and FTX US for American customers, a separate affiliate. In November 2022 a report questioned Alameda Research’s balance sheet, which triggered a run on FTX deposits. The exchange paused withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy within days. Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive, and John J. Ray III, a veteran insolvency lawyer, took over to recover assets for creditors. If you are choosing an exchange today, our guide to how to choose an exchange covers licences, fees and warning signs.

The start of these distributions is an incredible and important milestone for FTX.

John J. Ray III, Plan Administrator of the FTX Recovery Trust, February 2025

Why did FTX collapse?

FTX collapsed because customer deposits had been moved to its sister trading firm, Alameda Research, and were not there when customers tried to withdraw. In early November 2022 a report questioned Alameda’s balance sheet, which triggered a run on FTX. The exchange paused withdrawals, filed for Chapter 11 on 11 November 2022, and Bankman-Fried resigned the same day.

Alameda Research was a trading firm founded by Bankman-Fried and closely tied to FTX. Prosecutors later said customer money was used to fund Alameda’s investments, loans and expenses, and that FTX and Alameda concealed the connection from investors and lenders. When customers rushed to withdraw, FTX could not honour the requests because the assets were not sitting in its own accounts. This is a custody failure, not a trading loss: the coins did not simply fall in value, they had been moved off the exchange’s books.

The collapse unfolded in days. After the report on Alameda, withdrawals surged, FTX paused redemptions, and the company filed for Chapter 11 on 11 November 2022. John J. Ray III took charge of recovering assets for creditors, and the case was heard in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

What was Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of and sentenced to?

Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s co-founder and former chief executive, was convicted on 2 November 2023 of seven counts: two of wire fraud, two of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one each of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On 28 March 2024, US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors described it as one of the largest financial frauds in US history.

The verdict followed a roughly one-month trial in the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors argued Bankman-Fried directed the transfer of billions of dollars of customer deposits from FTX to Alameda Research and used them for investments, loans and political donations, while misleading investors and lenders about the companies’ finances. Several other executives pleaded guilty and cooperated; Caroline Ellison, Alameda Research’s former chief executive, received a two-year sentence. Bankman-Fried has said he plans to appeal.

What is the FTX repayment timeline?

FTX began repaying creditors on 18 February 2025, starting with the Convenience Class, which covers allowed claims of $50,000 or less. The estate has since made several larger rounds: a fourth distribution of about $2.2 billion went out on 31 March 2026 and a fifth of about $900 million is scheduled for 31 July 2026. Payments flow through BitGo, Kraken and Payoneer and are made in US dollars.

The dates below come from FTX Recovery Trust announcements and court reporting. Record and payment dates are set class by class, so check the portal for your own class.

Transferred or sold claims are paid only to the transferee shown on the official claims register once a 21-day notice period has lapsed without objection. In May 2026 the trust also asked the court to reduce a disputed claims reserve by $600 million, from $2.4 billion to $1.8 billion, so more cash could be released to creditors.

How much will FTX creditors get back?

About 98% of creditors are expected to receive at least 118% of their allowed claim value in cash, and non-governmental creditors are due 100% of their claim plus interest for the time value of their money. Recoveries are calculated on the dollar value of balances at the November 2022 petition date, not today’s prices. The estate recovered roughly $14.7 billion to $16.5 billion against about $11.2 billion owed.

The 118% headline applies mainly to the Convenience Class of claims up to $50,000. Larger claims are paid a percentage of petition-date value that has risen with each distribution. The table below shows cumulative recovery by class after the fourth distribution in March 2026, as announced by the trust and reported by The Block and CoinDesk.

Worked example: a creditor with an allowed Convenience Class claim of $10,000 would receive roughly $12,000 at the 120% cumulative rate, and a $50,000 claim, the top of the Convenience Class, would pay roughly $60,000. A larger Dotcom customer claim had reached 96% of its November 2022 value after the March 2026 round, with further amounts added by the July 2026 distribution.

Non-governmental creditors are owed their claim plus interest for the time value of money, which is why several larger classes reached exactly 100% in the March 2026 round while the Convenience Class reached 120%. The percentages are cumulative, so each new distribution adds to what a creditor has already received rather than replacing it.

The key caveat is the petition-date valuation. A customer who held one bitcoin when FTX failed is paid the US dollar value of that bitcoin in November 2022, around $16,000, plus the recovery uplift, not the value of one bitcoin today. This is why some creditors argue the payout, though above 100% of the petition-date claim, still does not make them whole in coin terms.

Why are FTX payouts in cash rather than crypto?

FTX repays creditors in US dollars because the estate did not hold the underlying coins customers thought they owned, so it could not return bitcoin or ether in kind. The plan values each claim in dollars as of the November 2022 petition date and pays that amount plus a recovery uplift. Creditors therefore miss out on any rise in crypto prices since the collapse.

The petition-date rule is the most important detail for anyone owed money. A balance of one bitcoin is converted to its November 2022 dollar value, around $16,000, and the recovery percentage is applied to that figure. Because bitcoin and ether rose sharply between 2022 and 2026, a creditor paid 120% of a November 2022 dollar claim can still receive far less than the coins would be worth now. Treating claims as debts fixed at the bankruptcy date is standard in US Chapter 11 cases, and the court confirmed the cash plan on 7 October 2024.

Some creditors argued they should be repaid in coin, but the estate did not hold enough crypto to do so. It raised the cash by selling investments and other assets, including its stake in Anthropic for nearly $900 million, according to CNBC.

Why did some creditors get back more than 100%?

The estate recovered more than it owed because asset sales and a rising crypto market produced roughly $14.7 billion to $16.5 billion against about $11.2 billion in claims. Because claims were fixed at November 2022 dollar values, that surplus let the plan pay most creditors above their claim amount: 118% or more for small claims, and 100% plus interest for larger ones.

The surplus came from several sources. FTX sold venture investments and other holdings, including its Anthropic stake for nearly $900 million, and it recovered funds from insiders and third parties. The value of some assets also rose during the bankruptcy. CNBC reported the estate had between $14.7 billion and $16.5 billion available for distribution against about $11.2 billion owed.

That does not mean every creditor feels whole. The 118% figure applies to a claim measured in November 2022 dollars. Because bitcoin roughly tripled in value after the failure, a customer who lost one bitcoin gets a multiple of its 2022 dollar value, not the current value of a bitcoin. The headline recovery percentage is high, but the baseline it is applied to is the petition-date value.

How can I get my money back from FTX?

Creditors claim through the FTX Customer Portal at claims.ftx.com, where they must complete identity verification (KYC), submit required tax forms and onboard with one of the distribution providers, BitGo, Kraken or Payoneer. Payments are sent in US dollars within one to three business days of a distribution date. FTX will never ask you to connect a wallet or share a seed phrase.

1. Log in to the FTX Customer Portal at claims.ftx.com and check whether your claim is listed and allowed.
2. Complete identity verification (KYC) and submit any required tax forms.
3. Onboard with a distribution provider: BitGo, Kraken or Payoneer.
4. Confirm your record date: finish these steps before the record date for your claim class to be included in a round.

Kraken is one of the three official distribution providers, so some FTX creditors receive funds through a Kraken account. Use only the portal links and the official provider sites. The trust has warned that it will never ask you to connect your wallets, a common phishing tactic after a high-profile bankruptcy. FTX Digital Markets Ltd, the separate Bahamian entity, communicates separately with the customers whose claims it administers.

If you no longer have access to the email on your FTX account, use the portal’s recovery process to verify your identity before onboarding with a provider. Do not pay anyone who asks for money to release or speed up your claim, and never hand over a seed phrase to someone claiming to help with a payout.

Is FTX still paying out?

Yes. As of November 2026 the FTX Recovery Trust is still distributing, with a fifth round of about $900 million set for 31 July 2026 after a 16 June 2026 record date. In May 2026 it asked the court to reduce a disputed claims reserve by $600 million, from $2.4 billion to $1.8 billion, to free cash for further payouts. New rounds are announced on the portal and on Kroll, the claims agent.

Before the March 2026 round, earlier distributions had already returned more than $6 billion to creditors, and the fourth distribution added about $2.2 billion. A prior distribution of about $1.6 billion went out on 30 September 2025. The fifth distribution of about $900 million on 31 July 2026 takes the announced payouts further still.

Several classes are already at 100% or more of petition-date value, while the Dotcom Customer Entitlement class was still climbing from 96% after the fourth round. The estate sets further record and payment dates as it resolves disputed claims and sells remaining assets. Monitor claims.ftx.com and the Kroll restructuring page rather than social media, where fake payout offers are common.

Kroll is the court-appointed claims and noticing agent, and its restructuring page hosts the official docket. Announcements also appear through PR Newswire under the FTX Recovery Trust name. If a date changes, the portal and Kroll are the authoritative places to check, not third-party Telegram or WhatsApp groups.

What should users do now?

If you were an FTX customer, act on your claim now: check claims.ftx.com, finish KYC and tax forms, and onboard with BitGo, Kraken or Payoneer before your record date. If you were not affected, treat FTX as a lesson to prefer exchanges with audited or verifiable reserves and to move long-term holdings into self-custody. Never share a seed phrase with anyone, including someone claiming to help with a payout.

FTX’s failure is a custody and solvency story, not a market story. Customer money was lost because it had been moved off the exchange’s books, not because crypto prices fell. Two habits reduce that risk. First, use exchanges that publish proof of reserves or are subject to real supervision; our reviews of Binance, Kraken and HTX (formerly Huobi) explain what to look for. Second, keep only trading funds on an exchange and move the rest to a wallet you control.

For self-custody, software wallets such as Electrum and hardware wallets such as the Ledger Nano S, which is now discontinued so check the upgrade path, keep keys offline or on your own device. See how to move crypto from an exchange to a wallet and how to store a seed phrase safely. Read is it safe to keep crypto on an exchange for the trade-offs.

There is no single global deadline: each class has its own record date, and missing one can mean waiting for a later round rather than losing the claim. Still, complete the steps promptly, because the estate is moving through rounds quickly in 2026.

Be alert to scams. After any large payout event, fraudsters impersonate the estate with fake portals, accelerated-payout offers and wallet-connect links. The real process never asks for a seed phrase and never asks you to connect a wallet. Crypto assets are volatile and this is not financial advice.