In April 2023, FTX's estate sold a 5% stake in Cursor for $200,000, which would now be valued at approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's $60 billion acquisition deal. This significant increase in value has brought attention to the crypto aspect of the transaction, as Alameda Research, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, initially invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, in April 2022.
The investment represented a 5% stake in the company at a $4 million valuation. However, after FTX's collapse, the court-appointed estate sold the stake for the same $200,000, resulting in a substantial loss of potential recovery for creditors. The timing of the sale has raised questions about the handling of FTX's assets during the bankruptcy process, with Bankman-Fried arguing that the estate's liquidation of assets was too hasty and resulted in the destruction of billions of dollars in value.
The case of the Cursor stake has become a prime example of the potential upside that FTX customers missed out on, with the stake's value increasing by a factor of 15,000. As FTX customers have been repaid in dollar terms under the bankruptcy distribution plan, the focus has shifted to the potential value that could have been realized if the estate had held onto its assets, including the stake in Cursor.