Originally $200k could become $3 billion! FTX sold Cursor equity cheaply, now Musk is pouring in big money to buy it.

Cursor, under Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has struck a deal at a valuation of $60 billion, causing the value of its 5% equity stake to surge to $3 billion. However, the FTX liquidation team had already sold it off at the original price, missing out on a 15,000-fold return.

Recently, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has once again become the focus of intense market discussion. The reason is not progress on creditor compensation, but that the FTX bankruptcy liquidation team sold the equity in AI startup Cursor—purchased for just $200,000 a few years ago—for now roughly $3 billion, with potential returns as high as 15,000 times.

Earlier this week, SpaceX, led by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, dropped a bombshell in the market, announcing it had secured the right to acquire AI startup Cursor for $60 billion. If the acquisition ultimately cannot be completed, then $10 billion will be paid to drive cooperation between the two sides.

This unprecedented deal not only shocked markets worldwide, but also unexpectedly pulled out a “case within a case.” Looking back to April 2022, Alameda Research, FTX’s sister company founded by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), invested $200,000 into Cursor’s parent company Anysphere, valuing it at $4 million and obtaining about a 5% stake.

But within just one year, Alameda Research and FTX both filed for bankruptcy protection. To quickly raise cash, the bankruptcy liquidation team appointed by the court竟 sold this Cursor equity off at the original purchase price of $200,000.

Based on SpaceX’s $60 billion valuation, the value of this 5% stake is now as high as $3 billion—missing out on a potential return of up to 15,000 times. The windfall that could have maximized creditor compensation ultimately ended up in the pockets of a mysterious buyer who grabbed the bargain back then during the bankruptcy process.

This transaction unquestionably gives SBF, who is currently serving a prison sentence, the strongest defensive ammunition. Over the past year, SBF has repeatedly spoken out from prison, harshly criticizing the bankruptcy liquidation team for, in pursuit of a fast resolution, selling assets at any cost during the market downturns and severely harming customers’ interests.

In February this year, SBF submitted an asset valuation, claiming that if the liquidation team had “continued to hold onto” these equity stakes and cryptocurrencies and weathered the downturns of 2023 and 2024, FTX’s net asset value (NAV) should now be able to reach $78 billion.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: “Block Beast”
• Original title: “From $200,000 to $3 Billion! FTX’s Cheap Sale of ‘Cursor Equity’ Missed a 15,000-Fold Return”
• Original author: Block Sister MEL