FTX to sell next lot of locked Solana tokens at auction

Exchanges • April 21, 2024, 4:43PM EDT

Published 1 minute earlier on

Quick Take

The next sale of FTX’s stockpile of locked Solana will take the form of an auction, likely because of high demand from buyers.

The FTX estate's next sale of locked Solana SOL -1.71% tokens, which have already garnered a high level of interest from buyers, will take the form of an auction rather than a private sale.

Following the estate's sale of $1.9 billion worth of Solana tokens to industry firms such as Galaxy Digital and Pantera, the next sale will be an auction, according to Figure CEO Mike Cagney. Exact details of the sale have not yet been revealed and FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The locked Solana tokens, which made up the largest percentage of FTX's digital assets holdings at the time of its collapse, have attracted strong interest from buyers willing to take the risk of paying a discounted rate for the locked Solana tokens, which may not be sold until a certain date in the future.

RELATED INDICES

The last sale of about two-thirds of FTX's hoard generated $2.6 billion for the estate at a cost of about $60 per token. With Solana's current price hovering around $150, the decision to buy appears to be a good one, though the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency means the price could significantly change before the tokens are unlocked and any funds are able to sell.

Still, there appears to be strong interest remaining for the locked tokens. Cagney's Figure Markets intends to create a Special Purpose Vehicle for non-US investors and accredited US investors to participate in the auction, a move praised by outspoken creditor Sunil Kavuri.

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About Author

Zack Abrams is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Before coming to The Block, he was the Head Writer at Coinage, a Web3 media outlet covering the biggest stories in Web3. The story he co-reported on Do Kwon won a 2022 Best in Business Journalism award from SABEW. Other projects included a deep dive into SBF's defense based on exclusive documents and unveiling the identity of the hacker behind one of 2023's biggest crypto hacks — so far. He can be reached via X @zackdabrams or email, [email protected].