SBF’s ‘FTX Was Solvent’ Claim Gets Fact-Checked by ZachXBT

• An SBF-linked account posted a 15-page document claiming FTX was “never insolvent.”
• The document blames legal counsel and points to a $136B hypothetical asset value today
• ZachXBT rebutted the claim, noting creditors were paid at 2022’s low prices, causing massive losses

A social account tied to Sam Bankman-Fried shared a document arguing that FTX was never bankrupt and that lawyers forced a filing that derailed a short-term liquidity fix. The post revived a long-running claim that assets and equity exceeded liabilities in late 2022, while critics pointed to the bankruptcy on Nov 11, 2022 and to creditor claim values set at petition-date prices rather than today’s higher crypto prices. 

The clash puts numbers and timing at the center of the recovery debate.

Related: SBF’s Family Releases 64-Page ‘Liquidity Crisis’ Narrative Ahead of Nov 4 Appeal

What The SBF Document Alleges

The 15-page write-up says FTX and Alameda held about $25 billion in assets and $16 billion in equity versus $13 billion in liabilities at collapse, framing the event as a liquidity crunch that the lawyers worsened. 

It adds a hypothetical portfolio value near $136 billion today, citing stakes such as Anthropic and Robinhood as proof that creditors could have been made whole. The claim seeks to reframe insolvency as timing, which shifts blame from operations to process.

The document asserts that FTX’s downfall was not due to a massive fraud scheme, as determined by a Manhattan jury in 2023, but a liquidity crunch that could have been resolved within weeks. It alleges that the exchange held around $25 billion in assets and an additional $16 billion in equity value against $13 billion in liabilities during its collapse in late 2022. According to the document, these figures show that FTX was solvent and capable of repaying creditors in full.

Echoing previous statements made by Bankman-Fried during a March interview from prison with political commentator Tucker Carlson, the document echoes his assertion that “there was enough money” to settle all customer and investor claims. It further claims that FTX’s external legal counsel prematurely placed the company into bankruptcy, halting its ongoing efforts to stabilize liquidity.

Asset Value Assertions and Hypothetical Portfolio

In a detailed breakdown, the document claims that if FTX and its trading affiliate, Alameda Research, had retained their investment portfolio, the two firms would currently possess holdings worth approximately $136 billion. Among the assets listed are a $14.3 billion stake in artificial intelligence company Anthropic and $7.6 billion in retail brokerage Robinhood.

Other referenced investments include positions in XRP-focused fintech company Ripple and Bitcoin mining firm Genesis Digital Assets. Last month, the FTX Recovery Trust filed a lawsuit against Genesis Digital Assets seeking $1.15 billion, alleging misappropriation under Bankman-Fried’s direction.

Online Debate Over Bankruptcy Narrative

The post prompted immediate reactions from the crypto community, including blockchain investigator ZachXBT, who noted that “creditors were paid from crypto prices at the time of the FTX Nov 2022 bankruptcy and not at current prices,” which caused major losses for users holding assets like Solana and Bitcoin. He added that the higher valuations of illiquid investments today were “just a coincidence.”

ZachXBT condemned the new narrative, writing, “SBF is just trying to weaponize the fact that every FTX asset or investment has gone up from picobottom Nov 2022 prices when they factually could not pay out users at the time of bankruptcy.”

In response, the “Sam Bankman Freed” account, labeled as a fan page, responded that “they factually COULD pay out users at the time of bankruptcy.” It claimed a liquidity offer arrived “10 minutes after SBF signed a document handing authority to Ray,” alleging that new FTX CEO John J. Ray III ignored both Bankman-Fried’s request to withdraw the filing and $4 billion liquidity line from Tron on Nov. 18, 2022.

Related: FTX Trust Files $1.15B Suit Against Genesis Digital as SBF’s “gm” From Prison Draws Community Ire