Lukas Bartusek, a former FTX user from Prague, has been locked out of nearly $400,000 after accidentally sending 2,000 Solana (SOL) to her old account the year after the exchange collapsed. He needs a court order to get it back, according to a Monday application in Delaware Bankruptcy Court.
At the time Bartusek created the deposit, Solana was worth $31, bringing the deposit to around $63,700. Since then, Solana prices have skyrocketed to $198. That is, his locked funds are worth $396,000 at the time of reporting.
According to the filing, FTX accepted the deposit “deliberately and willingly.” Now they are telling Baltiusek that he needs a court order to withdraw the funds.
The Bartusek issue began on October 22, 2023 when I attempted to request a withdrawal from a crypto wallet linked to another exchange, BTSE. Instead of moving 2,000 Sols to another account, he accidentally deposited them into his old FTX account.
But they weren’t, and by the time Bartusek realized his mistake, the FTX legal team told him that he could not return his funds without the judge’s approval. Bankruptcy law prevents businesses from distributing funds outside of approved court processes. That is, even accidental deposits remain locked.
Bartusek’s lawyer Jack Shrum said such cases were not uncommon. “Some people use several different crypto wallets, so it’s not difficult to imagine them stacking up in one wallet that happens to be bankrupt,” he explained.
Unfortunately, Bartusek is not the only one who has struggled to collect the funds. Since FTX collapsed in November 2022, thousands of FTX users have been stagnant, with customer withdrawals frozen for over two years to see if they would recover lost assets.
FTX’s bankruptcy team ultimately began paying off several clients on February 8th. Based on the reorganization plan for FTX Chapter 11, the company confirmed that the initial distribution will begin on February 18th, but will only apply to creditors with approved claims in the convenient class. I’ve checked. Means the user who has completed the pre-distribution requirements.
Customers eligible for repayment must expect funds within 1-3 business days from February 18th. According to official reports, FTX has transferred funds to Bitgo and Kraken, which serve as distribution service providers. These companies will handle retail and institutional distributions in supported jurisdictions in accordance with bankruptcy plans.
Discover more from Earlybirds Invest
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
