FTX lawyers have been making moves regarding lawsuits against crypto influencers and celebrities hired to promote the exchange during the height of its operations. However, the exchange looks to be finding other ways out of these legal disputes by choosing to settle with these influencers.
Proposed Settlements With Other Defendants
In the aftermath of FTX’s failure, lawyers came after a flurry of celebrities who had promoted the exchange in attempts to recover funds from various sources. Popular names, including Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and Naomi Osaka, were named as potential defendants in the lawsuit.
Crypto YouTube influencers named as defendants were BitBoy Crypto (Ben Armstrong) Graham Stephan, Ben Armstrong, Andrei Jikh, and Jaspreet Singh. Of those named by FTX, crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, popularly known as BitBoy, has been dismissed from the lawsuit as a defendant.
This was revealed in a court filing that showed that FTX lawyers have voluntarily dismissed claims against Armstrong, as the influencer failed to file an answer to the allegations brought against him.
Armstrong is not the only one looking toward settlement as NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence, one of the defendants, recently settled with FTX. Details of the settlement weren’t disclosed, but YouTubers Kevin Paffrath and Tom Nash have also decided to settle.
Making Headway In Court
FTX is making headway in its aim of clawing back some of the money spent excessively by Bankman-Fried and other execs before its implosion. The failed crypto exchange made recent headlines as it looked to do away with its Bitcoin and crypto holdings.
According to court filings, FTX has amassed approximately $7 billion in assets, leading to speculations of incoming liquidations.
FTX also received court approval to liquidate its crypto assets of $1.16 billion in SOL, $560 million in BTC, $192 million in ETH, and other cryptocurrencies. This has led to concerns from the crypto community of a negative impact on the prices of these cryptocurrencies.
All of this comes as former CEO Bankman-Fried is also set to be tried in court starting on October 3 for eight charges brought against him. The founder has continuously asked to be freed prior to his trial to aid in his defense preparation. However, the court has denied him every time.
The court has also said it will consider a postponement of the former CEO’s trial date, but neither Sam Bankman-Fried nor his lawyers have indicated that they will be filing for a postponement.