FTX starts a $900 million payout — and a 6-month clock some creditors can't afford to miss

FTX, the exchange that collapsed in 2022, begins paying out about $900 million to creditors on Friday in its fifth round of repayments. But the money only reaches people who finished a specific checklist by a June deadline — and for some, a new six-month clock starts now, after which they can lose their payout entirely.

The payments go to holders of approved claims who, by June 16, had passed identity checks, submitted a valid tax form, signed up with one of the official payout providers — BitGo, Kraken or Payoneer — and cleared sanctions screening. Those who did should see funds within one to three business days of Friday. Missing any single step means no payment in this round.

The part beginners should note is the forfeiture rule. If someone's claim was approved but they still have not finished signing up with a payout provider, Friday starts a six-month window. If they do not complete that onboarding within the six months, they can permanently lose the right to that money. A separate deadline applies to tax forms. In other words, being owed money is not the same as being ready to receive it.

How much each group gets varies. FTX's plan pays different “classes” of creditors different amounts — some smaller “convenience” claims reach 120% of their approved value cumulatively, while larger customer and unsecured classes land around 103% to 105% after this round. A separate fund is also making an $18 million payment to certain preferred shareholders, and a parallel process for Bahamas-based claims runs on its own terms.

Big, well-publicized payouts like this are also magnets for scammers. Fake “FTX claim” emails, websites and support agents tend to appear around distribution dates, hoping to catch people rushing to meet a deadline. The safe habit is to act only through the official channels named in FTX's own notices, never to pay a fee or share a seed phrase to “unlock” a distribution, and to treat any unexpected message promising faster access as suspect.