Eversheds Sutherland Files for Property Rights Over FTX.com Customer Assets

Global law firm Eversheds Sutherland has filed for an early stage summary judgment to ring-fence assets frozen in the accounts of non-U.S. FTX customers, thereby legally demarcating those funds from those being claimed by debtors of bankruptcy estate.

The FTX chapter 11 process is now into its fourth month and there’s a concern that the status of non-U.S. customer funds – which account for close to $2 billion – are being dithered over as a way of using them to contribute to the considerable operating costs of the bankruptcy.

The ad-hoc group of FTX.com non-U.S. customers have clear and unambiguous property rights over the assets, as per the exchange’s terms of service, said Eversheds Sutherland partner Sarah Paul.

In other crypto bankruptcies, such as Celsius, Blockfi and Voyager, the debtors have sought determinations on customer property rights early on in the proceedings, noted Eversheds Sutherland attorney Erin Broderick.

“Over four months into these chapter 11 proceedings, we still have not resolved the critical, gating issue of who owns the assets on the FTX.com exchange as a legal matter,” Broderick said.

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