FTX’s Anthropic Stake Skyrockets Past $30 Billion, Now Exceeds All Creditor Claims

FTX's remaining stake in artificial intelligence giant Anthropic has surged in value to over $30 billion, surpassing the total claims of all creditors from the collapsed crypto exchange's 2022 bankruptcy. The staggering valuation jump—from a $3.2 billion illiquid asset at the time of collapse—creates a potential windfall that could fully cover the $8-11 billion in customer deposits FTX owed when it filed, marking a dramatic turnaround in one of crypto's most notorious failures.

FTX’s Anthropic stake is now worth $30bn 

SBF reportedly invested in up to 473 companies through FTX and Alameda, including Anthropic, Robinhood, and major cryptos, which have turned out to be great investments today. 

Bankman-Fried’s most outstanding bet was Anthropic. FTX invested $500 million in OpenAI’s rival Anthropic for approximately 8% stake. The whole stake was sold by the bankruptcy lawyers for $1.3 billion, booking over $800 million surplus.

In February, Anthropic raised $30 billion in Series G funding led by GIC and Coatue, valuing the AI company at $380 billion post-money. FTX’s holdings would have been worth $30 billion, more than double the estimated debt owned to the FTX customers. 

Anthropic is just one sample. FTX bets in Solana, Robinhood, among others, also turned out profitable.

FTX/Alameda accumulated over 58 million Solana (SOL) from the Solana Foundation and Solana Labs between August 2020 and May 2021, according to an official blog post by the Foundation. Today, that stash would be worth over $5 billion at the current market price. 

In May 2022, SBF revealed a 7.6% stake in Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O), paying $648 million at the time. That position would be worth $5.12 billion, at the current stock price of $73.64 per share.

But what difference does it make?

None of these results changes anything. The underlying story is that SBF misused and funded most of his VC bets using customers’ money. 

FTX/Alameda is already far buried in bankruptcy. Most of the listed assets have already been liquidated, with reimbursements to affected customers already underway. Cryptopolitan reported Thursday that FTX Recovery Trust has returned over $6 billion to creditors, following a $2.2 billion repayment plan starting on March 31.

Interestingly, SBF has continued to make comments that somewhat imply that the stakes were sold too early or that the bankruptcy proceedings began too quickly. 

In response to a post on the current market value of FTX’s Anthropic stake, Bankman-Fried posted on X, criticizing the lawyers handling the process. “The lawyer who filed FTX for bankruptcy said Anthropic was worth ‘nothing’ and sold the stake for $1.3b,” he wrote. 

10 Myths About Me & FTX

1) Myth: FTX was insolvent / $8b vanished

Prosecutors to jurors: I had "more debts than assets"; "there's this giant, massive, unrepayable hole"

Debtors to my judge/Congress: my claim "FTX was solvent" is "false"; I "lost $8b of customer money"

Media… pic.twitter.com/xbpdjvHUzp

“FTX was never bankrupt. I never filed for it,” SBF posted in February. “The lawyers took over the company and 4 hours later they filed a bogus bankruptcy so they could pilfer it for money.”

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