U.S. Court to Rule on $450M Crypto Exchange Founder’s Robinhood Shares

• Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of a bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has filed a motion to the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware opposing the seizure of his Robinhood shares worth $450 million.
• A US Department of Justice prosecutor declared their intention to seize SBF’s shares in a previous court hearing.
• SBF’s lawyers argued that their client requires money to pay his legal fees and expenses.

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has been under house arrest since being apprehended by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in December 2022. This was weeks after the crash of his crypto exchange, which left many with massive losses. In a bid to recover the funds lost, the US Department of Justice has set out to seize the Robinhood shares of SBF, which are worth a reported $450 million.

In response, SBF has filed a motion to the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware opposing the enforcement of control over his shares. In the court filing, he claims that the Robinhood shares have nothing to do with any FTX-affiliated firms. He is also requesting the court to block debtors‘ access to his Robinhood shares.

SBF’s lawyers argued that their client requires money to pay his legal fees and expenses. Since the court has appointed liquidators to look for any available assets to repay FTX debtors, the next hearing will reveal what the Department of Justice will do with the Robinhood shares.

It remains unclear how the US Department of Justice will respond to SBF’s motion, but it is clear that the court will have to rule on the matter in order to ensure that debtors are not denied access to the funds owed to them. Whatever the outcome, this case will have implications for the crypto industry and could be a major step towards the legitimization of digital assets.