FTX, in an ongoing bankruptcy case, argues that investors’ claims for the so-called Sam Coins should be cancelled, asserting they should be valued at zero. At a hearing on March 26, lawyers representing FTX asked Delaware bankruptcy judge John Dorsey to significantly reduce customer claims for a crypto token closely associated with FTX’s incarcerated founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Noteworthy Developments in the FTX Case
FTX attorney Brian Glueckstein stated that customer claims for the native tokens of travel platform Maps (MAPS), DeFi brokerage Oxygen (OXY), decentralized exchange Serum (SERUM), and Boba’s (BOBA) should be greatly reduced or brought down to zero. Glueckstein explained that experts applied a careful analysis to the assets’ value on the petition date and determined a reasonable reduction:
“Customers are attributing value to their claims on crypto assets based on a market that never existed and will not exist.”
FTX’s valuation expert Sabrina Howell concluded that liquidating the OXY and MAP tokens, which the firm once held over 95% of and were closely linked to SBF, would take decades.
FTX, based on their analyses, claimed that claims related to MAPS and OXY tokens should be considered worthless, as the assets valued at over $600 million at current rates. Meanwhile, claims related to SERUM tokens, valued at $509 million, should be discounted by approximately 58%.
However, FTX customers currently holding these Sam Coins have opposed these valuations and requested the rejection of the FTX attorney’s estimates. Customers claim that the total value of the four crypto assets is still over $1.1 billion.
What’s Happening with Sam Coins?
MAPS, a native token for the Solana-based Web3 travel platform Maps.me, supported by Alameda. According to CoinGecko data, it has lost 98% of its value from its all-time high of $2 in May 2021, trading at $0.03 at the time of publication.
OXY, the token of the Solana-based Oxygen DeFi brokerage, again supported by Alameda Research, has fallen 98% from its ATH and is currently trading at $0.08. SERUM, the token of the decentralized exchange of the same name, supported by FTX. It has seen a 99.5% drop from its peak and is currently valued at $0.06 per token.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven fraud charges by the US government nearly a year after FTX’s bankruptcy. Prosecutors recently proposed a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, but his lawyers claim this unfairly portrays him as an immoral supervillain.
