Do you remember how the FTX exchange collapsed two years ago? It was just a nightmare for hundreds of thousands of investors — people lost huge sums, some even all their savings. But now the refund process has begun. I'll tell you how this happens and what it means for the crypto industry.
What happened?
FTX was one of the largest crypto exchanges. Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, seemed to everyone to be an ideal leader — he was respected and trusted. But in November 2022, everything collapsed: it turned out that a large-scale fraud was going on inside the company. Sam got 25 years in prison, and the clients were left with nothing.
And two years later, on January 3, 2025, the FTX reorganization process was launched to begin payments to the victims. All this goes through the Chapter 11 plan (this mechanism is used to restructure companies in the United States). They organize payments with the help of BitGo and Kraken companies.
How does it work?
FTX promises that the first money will start flowing to customers within 60 days. But there are nuances.:
If you are from China, India or Indonesia, only BitGo is suitable for you.
If you are from Qatar, Vietnam or Venezuela, then only Kraken.
But in some countries there is not a single option yet, but FTX is working on it.
To receive a payment, you need to verify your identity (this is called KYC, or "Know your Customer") and comply with a bunch of other requirements. The process, of course, is not easy, and many on the forums complain about the difficulties.
How much money will be refunded?
There is an important point here. The amounts are calculated based on the value of assets in November 2022, when everything collapsed. Back then, bitcoin was worth about $15,000-17,000, but now it's more expensive than $100,000! It's the same with ethereum — before it was $1,200-1,600, now it's over $3,600. It turns out that you will be refunded the amount that was relevant at the time of the crash, and not at the current price. Many people are upset about this.
FTX says that 98% of lenders can repay up to 119% of their investments. It sounds good, but of course, a lot depends on the specific case.
The story of an investor
There's a guy named Harry (not his real name). He had about $6,000 in FTX. When the exchange crashed, he couldn't withdraw the money because everyone was trying to do it at the same time. Harry says he was shocked — he trusted FTX and thought it was a reliable company.
After that, he changed his approach to investing. Now he does not store large amounts on exchanges, but uses cold wallets (these are devices that allow you to safely store cryptocurrency offline).
His main lesson is never to invest more than he is willing to lose, and not to blindly believe advertising or authorities.
What does this mean for cryptocurrencies?
Despite all this mess, Harry and other investors still believe in cryptocurrencies. They just got smarter. Now people study projects more before investing, and it has become more difficult for scammers to deceive someone.
FTX has shown that the crypto industry is still immature. Strict rules and supervision are needed to ensure that such failures do not happen again. But, as Harry says, there are also bona fide participants in the crypt who are moving it forward: projects like Solana and Avalanche.
My advice
If you are thinking of investing in cryptocurrency, be careful. Keep only the amount you can afford to lose and use cold wallets for storage. And most importantly, don't believe the hype and always check the information about the project.
Cryptocurrencies represent high risks, but also great opportunities. The main thing is to approach it wisely.
