Three Years After FTX Collapse, Creditors Still Waiting as Crypto Rebuilds Trust
- FTX’s 2022 collapse erased billions in market liquidity and shattered trust in centralized exchanges
- Triggered proof-of-reserves and onchain transparency reforms across the crypto industry
- Many creditors remain unpaid, with only $7.1 billion distributed so far
- FTX’s recovered assets estimated at $16.5 billion; next payout expected in January 2026
- Sam Bankman-Fried appeals conviction amid ongoing industry efforts to restore credibility
Three years after the catastrophic collapse of FTX, one of crypto’s most infamous failures, the industry continues to grapple with its aftermath — both in restoring trust and ensuring creditors are finally made whole.
The exchange’s bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022, sent shockwaves throughout global markets, wiping out billions in liquidity and collapsing confidence in centralized exchanges (CEXs). It marked a defining moment for the crypto sector, sparking widespread reforms in transparency, governance, and regulatory oversight.
Exchanges Scramble for Transparency
Following FTX’s implosion, centralized exchanges faced an unprecedented crisis of confidence. In the weeks after the bankruptcy, users withdrew more than $20 billion from major trading platforms, according to CoinGecko.
To regain trust, leading exchanges began publishing proof-of-reserves (PoR) attestations — cryptographic reports showing asset holdings. Binance released its first such report on Nov. 10, 2022, followed by a Merkle Tree-based update days later, allowing users to verify its Bitcoin (BTC) reserves.
Other platforms, including OKX, Deribit, and Crypto.com, soon followed. However, critics argued that many reports were incomplete — mere snapshots that failed to include liabilities or continuous audits.
Crypto commentator David Gokhshtein wrote at the time:
“When you aren’t showing the company’s liabilities, it means nothing.”
While imperfect, these measures pushed the industry toward greater transparency and self-custody adoption, reshaping how users view centralized services.
As Kraken economist Thomas Perfumo told Cointelegraph, FTX’s collapse reinforced that “governance and integrity matter” and that crypto’s value proposition lies in accountable, verifiable systems.
DeFi Evolves Under Pressure
The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector also matured in response to FTX’s collapse. According to Eddie Zhang, president of dYdX Labs, DeFi protocols have since developed stronger risk frameworks and more sophisticated governance models, capable of withstanding market shocks.
The shift toward transparency and user sovereignty — a founding principle of DeFi — gained traction as users sought alternatives to centralized custody after 2022’s failures.
Despite significant progress across the industry, FTX creditors are still waiting for full repayment.
According to Sunil Kavuri, a creditor representative, around $7.1 billion has been distributed so far across three repayment rounds:
- $1.2 billion (January 2024) — first round, mainly small claimants under $50,000
- $5 billion (May 2024) — second round
- $1.6 billion (September 2024) — third round
The next distribution is expected in January 2026, though not yet confirmed. As of October 2024, FTX’s total recovered assets stood at $16.5 billion.
However, repayments are being made in U.S. dollars, not crypto — a critical detail that leaves many creditors feeling shortchanged.
When FTX collapsed, Bitcoin traded at $16,797; today, it’s around $103,000. While nominal repayments may exceed initial claim amounts, real recovery rates — adjusted for crypto’s rebound — range from 9% to 46%, according to Kavuri.
SBF’s Legal Battle Continues
Meanwhile, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy. His legal team has appealed the conviction, arguing he was denied a fair trial and prevented from presenting evidence that FTX was solvent in November 2022.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard his case on Nov. 4, 2025. According to Polymarket, the probability of SBF receiving a presidential pardon in 2025 remains extremely low — just 4%.
Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who cooperated with prosecutors, began serving her sentence in late 2024 and is expected to be released in mid-2026.
Rebuilding Trust, One Block at a Time
FTX’s collapse remains one of the most painful chapters in crypto’s history — but it also served as a catalyst for reform.
From proof-of-reserves adoption to decentralized governance improvements, the sector has grown more mature, transparent, and resilient. Yet for the thousands of creditors still waiting for closure, the scars of 2022 remain a powerful reminder that trust — once broken — takes years to rebuild.
