FTX’s Balance Sheet, Hack Paint Dim Picture for User Recovery

A swift plunge in value of FTX’s key crypto assets, along with unauthorized withdrawals of funds after it filed for bankruptcy, suggests that customers of the once popular exchange face a slim chance of recovering much of their deposits. 

A breakdown of the balance sheet of Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange shared with investors a day before its bankruptcy filing shows that it had nearly $9 billion in liabilities and $900 million in liquid assets, $5.5 billion in “less liquid” assets, and $3.2 billion in “illiquid” assets, according to sources familiar with the matter who viewed a limited version of information. Most of the biggest holdings, including lower-profile cryptocurrencies Serum, Solana and FTT, have since plunged in value. 

Within 24 hours of the bankruptcy filing, an outflow of unauthorized crypto withdrawals -- estimated at $477 million by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic  -- further eroded the pile of assets available for possible customer recovery. FTX is launching an investigation with law enforcement into the suspected theft. 

The balance sheet also referenced a negative $8 billion of a “hidden, poorly internally labeled” fiat currency account and noted $5 billion of withdrawals by users last Sunday. An accompanying note says, “There were many things I wish I could do differently than I did, but the largest are represented by these two things: the poorly labeled internal bank-related account, and the size of customer withdrawals during a run on the bank.” 

The balance sheet is incomplete and not granular, one source said. The Financial Times first reported on the balance sheet. Bankman-Fried didn’t respond to emailed inquiry about the balance sheet. 

Here’s a breakdown of key assets listed on FTX’s balance sheet: 

Serum Tokens: $2.2 billion 

The biggest asset listed on the balance sheet is $2.2 billion of SRM, or Serum tokens. Serum price has fallen about 38% since Nov. 10. Developers have since spun off the project to mitigate exposure to FTX. The market capitalization for Serum, based on circulating supply, is about $65 million, according to data from Coinmarketcap.

SOL Tokens: $982 million 

The balance sheet also lists assets of $982 million in SOL, or Solana tokens. SOL fell 24% in the past two days as developers distance themselves from the FTX-backed ecosystem.  

MAPS Tokens: $616 million 

The price of the MAPS token fell 25% in the past two days. The current market capitalization for MAPS token is $3.5 million, according to Coinmarketcap. 

FTT Tokens: $554 million

The price of FTT token, the token issued by FTX exchange, fell by 50% in the past two days. 

Robinhood Shares: $472 million

Robinhood’s stock rose 13% on Friday, meaning the asset value of Robinhood shares increased from what the balance sheet shows. However, Bankman-Fried’s holdings of Robinhood shares were under an entity called Emergent Fidelity, which is not among the entities listed in Friday’s bankruptcy filing.