## FTX Sold Cursor Stake for $200K in 2023. SpaceX's $60B Deal Exposes One of Crypto's Biggest Missed Recoveries
The bankruptcy estate of FTX sold its stake in AI coding startup Cursor for just $200,000 in 2023—a transaction that now appears as one of the most costly asset disposals in crypto history. SpaceX's reported agreement to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation has retrospectively transformed the routine bankruptcy sale into a multibillion-dollar missed opportunity for the exchange's creditors.

The sale occurred as part of FTX's ongoing liquidation proceedings, when the estate divested its equity position in the AI firm without anticipating the explosive growth in the artificial intelligence sector. At the time of the transaction, Cursor operated as a relatively obscure coding-assistance platform. The $200,000 price tag reflected what the estate determined to be fair market value—a figure now dwarfed by the approximately $3 billion the stake would represent under SpaceX's proposed acquisition terms. The discrepancy has drawn scrutiny from creditors and legal observers questioning the valuation methodology used during the bankruptcy process.

The Cursor valuation collapse underscores the inherent difficulty bankruptcy estates face when liquidating illiquid, early-stage equity positions in fast-moving technology sectors. AI companies have commanded unprecedented valuations over the past two years, driven by investor enthusiasm and the rapid commercialization of large language models. For FTX's creditors, who have already endured years of recovery efforts following the exchange's 2022 collapse, the revelation adds a painful asterisk to an already complex liquidation process. The estate's creditors stand to recover significantly less than they might have if the AI sector's momentum had been anticipated during asset sales.
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- **Source**: CoinDesk
- **Sector**: The Vault
- **Tags**: FTX bankruptcy, Cursor, SpaceX acquisition, crypto liquidation, AI valuation
- **Credibility**: unverified
- **Published**: 2026-04-23 06:54:05
- **ID**: 76258
- **URL**: https://whisperx.ai/en/intel/76258