A U.S. bankruptcy judge has given the go-ahead for crypto exchange FTX to sell its stake in AI startup Anthropic, a move aimed at helping the exchange’s creditors recover their losses.
During a hearing on Thursday, Judge John Dorsey of the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved FTX’s request to sell its nearly 8 percent stake in Anthropic. This decision came after creditors expressed their opinions on whether the sale process should proceed.
FTX had filed for permission earlier this month to sell its stake in Anthropic, which was valued at around $1.4 billion based on the startup’s latest reported valuation of $18 billion in December 2023. This investment was made by FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in 2021.
While there was some opposition from David Adler, representing certain FTX creditors, over concerns about preserving creditors’ rights, the issue was eventually resolved by incorporating language in the order to address these concerns.
FTX’s lawyer, Andrew Dietderich, explained during the hearing that the proceeds from selling the Anthropic shares would be added to the exchange’s funds, which would benefit all creditors. FTX is confident that it has sufficient funds to cover all customer and creditor claims in full.
FTX emphasized the urgency of selling the Anthropic stake due to the volatile nature of the market for early-stage technology companies like Anthropic. The exchange argued that accelerating the approval process for the sale was necessary to capitalize on favorable market conditions.
Overall, the approval of the sale represents a significant step forward in FTX’s efforts to address the fallout from its collapse and compensate its creditors.
