When FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022, it sent shockwaves throughout the cryptocurrency world, wiping out billions of dollars in market liquidity and shattering confidence in centralized exchanges.
This dramatic collapse became a turning point for the digital asset industry, sparking calls for greater transparency and responses from regulators.
Three years after the exchange's collapse, transparency initiatives across the cryptocurrency industry have surged. Proof of reserves certifications, audits, and on-chain analysis represent progress. Nevertheless, many reforms are still underway, and some FTX creditors have yet to receive full compensation.
Centralized exchanges bore the brunt of the trust crisis following FTX. According to CoinGecko, users withdrew over $20 billion from major trading platforms in the weeks following the bankruptcy.
In response, exchanges began releasing proof of reserves (PoR) certifications to demonstrate solvency. Binance published its first report on November 10, 2022, followed by a Merkle tree-based report a few days later, allowing users to verify their Bitcoin (BTC) holdings.
Around that time, OKX, Deribit, and Crypto.com also released proof of reserves amid concerns about contagion and uncertainty in cryptocurrency exchanges.
While these efforts provided some visibility into reserves, most relied on snapshots rather than ongoing audits and were often criticized by the cryptocurrency community.
An X user, David Gokhshtein, stated at the time that releasing proof of reserves was not enough. "It’s meaningless when you don’t show the company’s liabilities," he wrote.
Kraken's global economist, Thomas Perfumo, told Cointelegraph, "The painful lessons of the past are never an indictment of cryptocurrency," adding that FTX's failure reinforced "the importance of governance and integrity."
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols also adjusted after the collapse, not only pushing for calls for transparency but also promoting self-custody as a fundamental safeguard for cryptocurrency users.
"We have seen a significant shift," said Eddie Zhang, president of dYdX Labs, to Cointelegraph. According to Zhang, DeFi now operates under a stronger risk framework, while "governance is becoming more mature," with systems "capable of withstanding market shocks."
Despite the industry's transparency movement and recent regulations, such as the U.S. GENIUS Act and the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, some FTX creditors have still not recovered their losses.
According to an update from FTX creditor representative Sunil Kavuri on November 9, the exchange has so far allocated $7.1 billion to creditors through three rounds.
In January, FTX announced it would distribute over $1.2 billion in repayments to creditors who met specific requirements by January 20. However, according to Sunil, the first round only actually paid out $454 million, going to small claimants with balances under $50,000.
A larger-scale payment of $5 billion was made on May 30, and the latest round occurred on September 30, distributing an additional $1.6 billion to creditors. The next distribution is expected in January 2026, although it has not yet been confirmed by FTX's estate administrators.
As of October 2024, the total assets recovered by FTX are estimated to be around $16.5 billion.
According to Kavuri, since repayments are made in cash rather than physical crypto assets, creditors are missing out on the market rebound since 2022.
The day after FTX filed for bankruptcy, BTC was valued at $16,797, while it traded at around $103,000 on Tuesday.
Kavuri stated that even if cash repayments exceed the original claim amounts, the actual recovery rate, adjusted for current cryptocurrency prices, could range from 9% to 46%.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy but has appealed his conviction, arguing that he was denied the presumption of innocence and barred from presenting evidence that FTX was actually solvent in November 2022. His legal team appeared before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals on November 4.
Prediction market Polymarket currently estimates that Bankman-Fried has only a 4% chance of receiving a presidential pardon in 2025. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison is cooperating with prosecutors and is set to begin serving her sentence at the end of 2024, with an expected release in mid-2026.
Related: CFTC chair candidate faces hearing after Trump withdraws first pick
Original article: “Three Years After the FTX Collapse: Creditors Still Waiting, Industry's Road to Rebuilding Trust is Long”
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