Academic Affiliate Sabrina Howell Opines on FTX’s Digital Asset Values in Chapter 11 Case

November 20, 2024

Analysis Group was retained by Sullivan & Cromwell on behalf of FTX, a now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange. FTX had been the subject of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since November 11, 2022, when a significant liquidity crisis forced the exchange to suspend operations. Prior to ceasing operations, FTX was the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange and had served over 1 million customers. Due to FTX’s liquidity crisis, its customers were unable to withdraw assets or close positions on the exchange prior to the shutdown of the exchange. As a result, the basis for customer claims against FTX in the Chapter 11 proceedings comprised over 1,200 different digital assets, including cryptocurrency, digital tokens, and derivatives such as futures, leveraged tokens, and tokenized stock.

An Analysis Group team led by Managing Principal Laurits Christensen, Vice President Laszlo Jakab, and Manager Dasha Anosova supported academic affiliate Sabrina Howell of the NYU Stern School of Business, who submitted expert reports and provided deposition and trial testimony on the value of the different digital assets on which the customer claims in the Chapter 11 proceedings were based. Analysis Group also supported FTX in the preparation of its Chapter 11 reorganization plan by estimating expected proceeds from digital assets recoveries.

In confirming the reorganization plan, Chief Judge John Dorsey of the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware referred to the case as a “model case for how to deal with a very complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.” John Ray III, FTX’s CEO and chief restructuring officer, announced that FTX was “poised to return 100% of bankruptcy claim amounts plus interest for non-governmental creditors through what will be the largest and most complex bankruptcy estate asset distribution in history.”