The ghost of FTX, the once-mighty cryptocurrency exchange that crashed and burned, is still making waves in the market. Its bankruptcy estate recently moved to unlock a chunk of Solana (SOL) tokens. This action comes as the estate prepares for another round of payments to its former customers.
The team handling FTX’s bankruptcy just redeemed about 192,000 SOL tokens. These tokens were held in a staking arrangement. The value of this batch of tokens sits around $44.9 million. This news broke on Thursday, with on-chain data shared by analytics firm EmberCN.
Blockchain records confirm that wallets tied to FTX and its sister company, Alameda Research, have pulled more Solana out of staking. This happens right before the next payout to creditors, set for late September. EmberCN also pointed out that FTX and Alameda staking addresses have redeemed and moved roughly 8.98 million SOL in total. This massive sum is worth about $1.2 billion, based on an average price of $134 per SOL since November 2023.
Even after these moves, FTX’s staking wallet still holds a significant amount of Solana. As of Thursday, about 4.18 million SOL remained staked. This stash is currently valued at roughly $977 million, according to data from Solscan. For those new to the crypto scene, staking involves locking up digital coins on a blockchain network. This helps secure the network and validate transactions. In return, the staker earns rewards, much like interest in a traditional bank account. Once staked, these tokens are locked until they are redeemed, along with any rewards they’ve earned.
FTX Prepares for Its Next Payout
FTX, once a titan among crypto exchanges, filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. The downfall was a result of poor financial management. This dramatic collapse became one of the biggest scandals in crypto history. Its founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was later sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 for his role.
The FTX estate started paying back creditors early in 2025. So far, it has distributed nearly $6.2 billion through two previous rounds. The first payout was $1.2 billion in February, followed by $5.0 billion in May.
The next batch of creditor claims is expected to go out on September 30. Platforms like BitGo, Kraken, and Payoneer will handle these distributions. This means the newly unlocked SOL tokens will likely be sent to various wallets. From there, they will probably move to other exchanges in the coming weeks.
This comes at a good time for Solana. The price of SOL has climbed 20% over the last month. At the time of this report, SOL traded at around $239.74, showing a 6% increase in just 24 hours. This mirrors a general upward trend across the cryptocurrency market, according to CoinGecko data.
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