Following SpaceX's agreement to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation, it has been revealed that a 5% stake in the AI coding startup, sold by FTX's bankruptcy estate for $200,000 in April 2023, would now be worth approximately $3 billion. This substantial increase in value underscores one of the largest missed recoveries in crypto history. The deal marks Elon Musk's effort to bridge the gap with competitors in AI coding tools, an area where his company, xAI, is currently lagging behind. The sale of the Cursor stake by FTX's estate has sparked controversy, particularly given the timing of the bankruptcy and the subsequent valuation of the company.
The estate's decision to liquidate assets, including the Cursor stake, has been criticized by Sam Bankman-Fried, who argues that holding onto these assets could have resulted in significantly higher recoveries for creditors. The Cursor stake's valuation represents a 15,000x return on the initial investment, highlighting the potential value that could have been realized if the estate had held onto the asset. This development is likely to feature prominently in ongoing discussions about the handling of FTX's bankruptcy and the potential for a pardon for Bankman-Fried.