FTX, which was once a prominent player in the cryptocurrency sector, still shows signs of basic errors that have contributed to its collapse.

One of the most apparent blunders was selling too soon its early-stage, high-potential partnership investments. Those decisions have likely set the exchange back to the tune of billions in unrealized gains (the crypto community is now left to wonder if these were really “partnership” decisions made under pressure or just plain dumb moves).

Key FTX Restructuring Outcomes for Customers 1. FTX estate sold numerous investments for far less than their worth. 2. Potential upside missed by FTX = $7.6 billion. 3. Repaid to customers so far = $1.2 billion. 4. Amount to be repaid, stated by FTX, = $14.7 billion to $16.5 billion.

Anysphere: A $200K Exit from a $9B Rocket

One of the most missed notable opportunities for FTX was its early investment in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor AI. In 2022, Alameda, FTX’s trading firm, invested a modest $200K into Anysphere. At the time, it seemed a small gamble for a potentially big payoff. By April 2023, however, the estate of FTX sold the stake for the same amount—just $200K—seemingly writing off any future potential.

By 2025, Anysphere had raised $900 million and had a valuation of a staggering $9 billion. FTX’s initial $200,000 investment would now be worth an estimated $500 million. And from that, you get this: 50x for Anysphere; 2.5x profit for FTX; and a missed opportunity on Anysphere’s first round of funding that had us recoup investors’ funds instead of bagging life-changing profits.

Sui: A Missed $3.55 Billion from Mysten Labs

A further notable instance of FTX’s exit strategy became evident in its interactions with Mysten Labs and the $SUI token. In 2022, FTX funneled a $101 million check into Mysten’s Series B funding round, obtaining both equity and around 890 million $SUI tokens as part of the arrangement. At the time, it appeared to be a solid investment, with these tokens set to capitalize on the burgeoning DeFi ecosystem.

In April 2023, however, FTX’s estate sold off its whole position, for $96.2 million—a loss of $4.8 million compared to the price it paid for the tokens. By May 2025, $SUI was trading at about $4 a token. That surge in value turned FTX’s missed investment opportunity into something that could have plumped up its estate with an additional $3.55 billion. Who knows—maybe investors could have bought some really nice shelters for that kind of cash.

Selling this position looks even more regrettable now, especially when you consider how much $SUI could keep going up if and when Mysten Labs really makes a name for itself in the blockchain space.

Anthropic: $500M Bet Sold Too Soon

The investment in Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind Claude AI, was perhaps the most painful loss for FTX. In 2021, FTX bought an 8% stake in the company for $500 million, banking on the promise of artificial intelligence to deliver outsized returns. By 2023, FTX’s estate was selling its stake in Anthropic—and doing so for a total of $1.33 billion.

A year later, Anthropic has become super valuable, with its worth rocketing to an astounding $61.5 billion. If FTX had held on to its 8 percent piece of that worth, it would now be sitting on an asset worth an estimated $4.92 billion—an amount that is $3.59 billion more than what FTX realized from the sale of its Anthropic stake.

Anthropic’s swift ascent, powered by the increasing allure of AI technologies, highlights FTX’s lost chance, particularly when you consider that Anthropic’s valuation keeps rising in lockstep with AI’s growing importance on the global tech and finance stage.

FTX fumbled the bag. Three times over.

Anysphere (Cursor AI) recently raised $900M, more than tripling its valuation.

FTX had an early stake… and sold it for $200K. Today it’s worth ~$500M.

That was just one of 3 early exits that cost them ~$7.6B.

Here’s what happened pic.twitter.com/z13TtK7DZd

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) May 15, 2025

Conclusion: A Strategic Move Under Pressure or a Rushed Mistake?

The trio of early exits—Anysphere, Sui, and Anthropic—calls to mind the many possibilities FTX could have realized had it just held on to its positions. The combined total of these three developments amounts to $7.64 billion, which, had it been realized during the period in which FTX was attempting to emerge from bankruptcy, could have done a lot to help boost creditor recoveries and significantly change the narrative regarding FTX’s image.

Looking back, we can see that these weren’t just normal investment screw-ups. The quick sell-offs, mainly due to how much they could have earned, beg the question: were they An impulsive choice, made under pressure? Or were they nasty, strategic moves done to cover for the company’s obvious financial instability? Whatever the case, they were some of the most expensive mistakes in FTX’s short, wild history.

As FTX progresses with its restructuring, these not-so-missed opportunities offer a cautionary tale about the high-risk, high-reward crypto world we’re in. Imagining—because that’s all we can do since FTX is in no position to say otherwise—what the outcome might have been had FTX held onto these assets makes for an equally unreal and ridiculously lucrative picture of crypto history.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ May 17, 2025 5:26 am