The FTX-Alameda bankruptcy estate is contesting a $264 million claim filed by Tai Mo Shan, a subsidiary of Jump Trading, over an unfulfilled loan agreement with Alameda Research. FTX lawyers argue that the claim is invalid because the loan never materialized.
Tai Mo Shan’s claim revolves around the non-delivery of 800 million Serum (SRM) tokens, linked to a loan agreement from August 2020. SRM is the native token of the decentralized exchange Serum, backed by FTX, which collapsed along with the FTX exchange in 2022.
According to court filings, Jump Trading calculated its damages using an options model, factoring in SRM’s market price on the bankruptcy filing date, the token’s implied volatility, the repayment option price, and other elements.
FTX lawyers, however, are urging the court to reject this claim, asserting that Alameda Research never delivered the promised cryptocurrency, thus nullifying the loan agreement. “It is undisputed that Alameda failed to deliver the cryptocurrency contemplated by the Loan Confirmation to the Master Loan Agreement. The loan therefore did not commence,” stated the FTX estate lawyers in their filing.
They emphasized that the Master Loan Agreement does not permit Tai Mo Shan to compel Alameda to deliver the cryptocurrency or to seek monetary damages for a loan that never began.
Furthermore, FTX’s legal team challenges the $264 million damage estimate as “baseless,” criticizing Jump’s use of the “options model” as vague and insufficiently explained. They argue that the damages calculation, based on SRM’s price on the bankruptcy petition date, is flawed since the loan agreement specified that the tokens were to be delivered in daily installments starting August 1, 2023.
Additionally, FTX alleges that Tai Mo Shan might be liable for fraudulent transfer, suggesting this should further disqualify its claim. “The debtors submit that Tai Mo Shan may have been the recipient of certain constructively fraudulent transfers…including the purported loan at issue here,” the filing notes.
Meanwhile, FTX creditors have begun voting on a liquidation plan for compensating exchange customers, with a deadline of August 16 to cast their votes. The exchange aims to secure final approval for the liquidation plan by October this year.
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