FTX Debtors file lawsuit against Grayscale and Digital Currency Group

• FTX Debtors filed a lawsuit against Grayscale, DCG, and two of its executives
• The lawsuit claims that the firm prevented Alameda from redeeming its shares

The FTX saga continues to hit the crypto headlines. In its latest, the FTX Debtors have announced a lawsuit against Grayscale Investments, a popular crypto asset management firm. The lawsuit also extends to its CEO – Michael Sonnenshein, its parent company – Digital Currency Group (DCG), and its founder – Barry Silbert. Moreover, the lawsuit is filed by FTX debtor affiliate – Alameda Research – the infamous FTX investment arm.

Notably, the lawsuit seeks legal relief to “unlock $9 billion or more in value for shareholders of the Grayscale Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts.” In addition, the lawsuit wants Grayscale to “realize over a quarter billion dollars in asset value.”

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FTX Debtors complaint against Grayscale

The FTX Debtor claims that Grayscale charged exorbitant management fees of over $1.3 billion from the firm. And, this violated the Trust agreements between Grayscale and Alameda. Moreover, the complaint alleges that the asset management firm has prevented its shareholders from redeeming their shares citing “contrived excuses.”

The complaint also takes into account the recent fall in the Net Asset Value of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). GBTC started trading at a discount after reports of DCG’s sister company – Genesis Trading – halted withdrawals, post-FTX collapse. The FTX Debtors’ complaint further stated,

“If Grayscale reduced its fees and stopped improperly preventing redemptions, the FTX Debtors’ shares would be worth at least $550 million, approximately 90% more than the current value of the FTX Debtors’ shares today.”

In the press release, the current CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer – John J. Ray III – said,

“Our goal is to unlock value that we believe is currently being suppressed by Grayscale’s self-dealing and improper redemption ban. FTX customers and creditors will benefit from additional recoveries, along with other Grayscale Trust investors that are being harmed by Grayscale’s actions.”

FTX and the case of missing funds

Notably, the lawsuit comes days after FTX Debtors’ presentation revealed the actual magnitude of funds shortfall. The crypto exchange has a $8.7 billion hole in its balance sheet. Whereas, Alameda’s debt to the crypto exchange stands at $9.3 billion.

So far, FTX has been able to recover over $2.2 billion in assets, out of which $694 million was in liquid assets. This includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), stablecoin, and fiat currencies. Meanwhile, the customer receivables for the exchange stand at $385 million.