In April 2023, FTX's bankruptcy estate sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000, a fraction of its current valuation of $3 billion following SpaceX's acquisition agreement. This deal has brought attention to one of the largest missed recoveries in crypto history.
SpaceX's agreement to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation has given the company's stakeholders a significant windfall, with FTX's estate missing out on a potential $3 billion payday. The stake was originally purchased by Alameda Research, a trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, for $200,000 in April 2022.
After FTX's collapse, the court-appointed estate sold the stake for the same amount, realizing a significantly lower return than its current value. This has led to criticism of the bankruptcy administration's handling of FTX's assets, with Bankman-Fried arguing that the estate destroyed billions in value by liquidating assets too quickly.
The timing of the sale has also been questioned, as it came at a time when crypto prices were at a low point. The Cursor stake's valuation has increased significantly since its launch in early 2023, making it one of the steepest trajectories in software startup history.
While FTX customers have been made whole in dollar terms under the bankruptcy's distribution plan, they have not received the upside from the assets' subsequent increase in value, including the $3 billion forgone recovery from the Cursor stake.