A routine bankruptcy sale by FTX has turned into one of the most striking missed opportunities in crypto history after a stake in AI startup Cursor surged in value following a major acquisition agreement.
A 5% stake in Cursor, originally acquired through Alameda Research in April 2022 for $200,000, was sold by FTX’s bankruptcy estate in April 2023 for the same amount. That same stake would now be worth approximately $3 billion, after SpaceX agreed to acquire Cursor’s parent company, Anysphere, at a $60 billion valuation.
SpaceX stated it holds the right to complete the acquisition later this year or pay a $10 billion breakup fee if the purchase does not proceed. The move reflects founder Elon Musk’s push to close the competitive gap with AI leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Bankruptcy Timing Sparks Criticism Over Asset Liquidation
The missed windfall has intensified criticism of FTX administrators, with concerns that assets were liquidated too quickly during the bankruptcy process. The sale occurred after FTX collapsed and entered court-supervised restructuring, leaving potential gains to outside buyers rather than creditors.
Sam Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year federal sentence, has argued from prison that the estate destroyed billions in potential value by selling holdings during market lows. He previously projected that FTX’s net asset value could have reached $78 billion if assets had been held through the recovery period of 2023–2024.
AI Growth Highlights Lost Upside for Creditors
Cursor launched its AI coding product in early 2023, the same year the stake was sold, and its rapid growth has been among the steepest in the software industry. Despite the lost upside, FTX customers were eventually made whole in dollar terms, receiving claim values plus interest under the bankruptcy plan.
However, creditors did not benefit from the appreciation of assets after liquidation. The Cursor stake alone represents roughly $3 billion in forgone recovery compared with the $200,000 realized, making it a central example cited by Bankman-Fried’s family as they continue advocating publicly for a pardon.
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