Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founder of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, has resurfaced through an online post insisting that his company was never insolvent and has always had enough assets to repay all customers. The claim, shared via an account previously linked to him, included a 14-page document titled “FTX: Where Did the Money Go?” that attempts to reframe the narrative surrounding one of crypto’s biggest collapses.
The document, dated September 30, 2025, argues that FTX’s 2022 downfall stemmed from a temporary liquidity crunch, not fraud or bankruptcy. It asserts that 98% of creditors have already been repaid at least 120% of their claims and that, even after paying $8 billion in customer claims and $1 billion in legal fees, the estate still holds around $8 billion in remaining assets. “FTX was never insolvent,” the paper claims. “There have always been enough assets to repay all customers — in full, in kind — both in November 2022 and today.”
According to the document, the collapse occurred because of a “sudden shortage of cash” that would have been resolved by the end of November 2022 had the company’s external lawyers not intervened. It presents data from a January 2023 bankruptcy filing showing that FTX had approximately $15 billion in assets, including $5.5 billion in liquid funds, $1.7 billion in cash, and $685 million in Solana. The filing also listed $4.6 billion in venture investments across more than 300 firms such as Anthropic, Mysten Labs, StarkWare, and Yuga Labs.
The post argues that “the money never left,” emphasising that most repayments were made in “petition-date USD,” fixed to November 2022 rates. It blames the bankruptcy lawyers for mismanagement, alleging that they unnecessarily placed the exchange into bankruptcy despite it being solvent at the time.
The ongoing dispute over creditor claims also gained attention this week after a judge denied a motion to withhold repayments to customers in 49 countries. The decision was celebrated by international creditors, including a prominent Chinese FTX claimant who urged others to continue advocating for fair treatment.
The report echoes remarks Bankman-Fried made earlier this year from prison, where he claimed FTX had $25 billion in assets and $16 billion in equity value against $13 billion in liabilities before its collapse. His supporters have since amplified the narrative that he was unfairly scapegoated, with one associate writing, “He was just a fall guy. The real Trojan horse is still among us.”
The resurfaced statement also emerges amid speculation that allies of President Donald Trump are lobbying for Bankman-Fried’s pardon, following Trump’s recent decision to pardon Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao. Despite these developments, Bankman-Fried remains in federal custody, serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy. His renewed claims, however, have reignited debate over whether FTX’s implosion was truly criminal or simply the result of panic and poor management — a question that continues to divide the crypto community.
