Can You Sell a Partial FTX Claim?

When creditors think about selling an FTX claim, they usually picture an all-or-nothing decision: keep the whole claim and wait for the Recovery Trust, or sell the whole thing today. There is a third option that gets far less attention. You can sell only part of a claim.

A partial sale lets you take some cash now while keeping exposure to the rest of the FTX recovery. It is a normal feature of how bankruptcy claims trade, not an exotic arrangement. The mechanics are the same formal process used for a full sale - applied to a fraction of the claim instead of all of it.

This guide explains how a partial FTX claim sale works, why a creditor might want one, the practical details to think through before you split a claim, and how the choice compares with selling everything or holding on.

Yes, You Can Sell a Partial FTX Claim

An FTX claim is a legal right against the FTX Recovery Trust - the right to receive distributions on an allowed amount. That right is divisible. A claim for, say, a six-figure allowed amount does not have to move as one block. It can be assigned in part.

When you sell a partial FTX claim, the buyer takes a defined slice of the claim - expressed as a portion of the allowed amount - and you keep the remainder. After the transfer is processed, the original claim effectively becomes two positions: the part now held by the buyer, and the part still held by you. Both continue to track the same FTX distributions, each in proportion to its size.

So the question "can I sell half my FTX claim?" has a straightforward answer. Yes - half, a third, a specific dollar portion. The split is whatever you and the buyer agree to put in the contract.

It helps to think of the claim as a quantity rather than a single object. The recovery on a Class 5A claim is calculated as a percentage of the allowed amount, so a claim worth a given allowed figure pays out proportionally. Selling part of it just means transferring a defined slice of that quantity. Nothing about the claim's class, its petition-date basis, or its place in the distribution schedule changes - only how the eventual payout is divided between two holders instead of one.

Why Sell Only Part of a Claim

Splitting a claim is a way to get two things that normally pull against each other: liquidity now and upside later.

A full sale gives you certainty. You receive an agreed amount in USDT, and you are out of the position - no more waiting, no more exposure to how the case develops. Holding the whole claim gives you the opposite: the prospect of the full Trust recovery, but on the Trust's timeline and with the case's remaining uncertainty. A partial sale sits between the two.

Creditors choose it for several reasons:

• Take some money off the table. You convert part of the claim to cash you can use now, while leaving the rest to pay out later.
• Manage risk. If you are not sure whether to sell, splitting the claim means you are not forced into a single all-or-nothing call.
• Keep upside on the remainder. The FTX Class 5A recovery is tracking around 96% of allowed amounts for early distributions, with a projected total above face value once later tranches are counted. A creditor who believes in that outcome may want to keep a portion exposed to it.
• Cover an immediate need without giving up the whole position. Sometimes you only need part of the value now.

None of these is the "right" answer for everyone. The point is that a partial sale gives you a dial rather than a switch. A full sale and a hold are the two ends; a partial sale lets you pick a setting in between that fits your own situation.

There is also a behavioural reason creditors find a partial sale easier. Deciding to sell an entire claim can feel like a final, irreversible call, and that pressure leads some people to delay indefinitely. Splitting the claim lowers the stakes of the first decision. You act on part of the position, see how the rest develops, and revisit the remainder later with less of that all-or-nothing weight on the choice.

How a Partial Assignment Works Through a SAC

A partial sale uses the same instrument as a full sale: a SAC, or Sale and Assignment of Claim. The difference is in what the contract assigns.

In a full sale, the SAC assigns the entire claim. In a partial sale, the SAC assigns a stated portion of it - for example, a fixed amount of the allowed claim, or a percentage. The agreement identifies the original claim, the part being transferred, and the part being retained, so there is no ambiguity about who owns what afterward.

From there the process follows the standard claim transfer route. Claim transfers in the FTX bankruptcy are governed by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3001(e), and that rule expressly contemplates transfers of part of a claim. After the SAC is signed, the buyer files a Notice of Transfer with Kroll, the FTX claims agent, identifying the partial amount being moved. The standard 21-day objection window then runs. If no objection is filed, Kroll records the partial transfer.

If you want to understand the underlying contract in detail, see our guide to what a SAC agreement is. The structure is identical for a partial deal; only the assigned amount changes.

One detail makes a partial SAC slightly more careful work than a full one: it has to be precise about what stays behind. A full sale assigns everything, so there is nothing to describe. A partial sale has to define the transferred portion and the retained portion clearly enough that the claims agent, and any future reader, can tell exactly where the line is. A well-drafted partial SAC states the original claim, the amount being assigned, and the amount you keep, with no room for the two to be confused.

The objection window works the same way as in a full transfer. During the 21 days after the Notice of Transfer is filed, the original creditor can object if the partial transfer was filed in error. If you sell part of your own claim deliberately, there is nothing to object to - but the window still runs before the partial transfer is final on the register.

The Remaining Stub: What You Keep

The part of the claim you do not sell is sometimes called the stub or the residual. It is still a real FTX claim, with the same class and the same petition-date basis as before - just a smaller allowed amount.

The stub keeps receiving Trust distributions on its share. If you sold 60% of a Class 5A claim and kept 40%, the 40% continues to pay out on the published distribution schedule, in the same way the whole claim would have. You remain a holder of record for that portion, with whatever portal access and correspondence that involves.

You can also sell the stub later. A partial sale today does not lock the rest in place. If you decide down the line that you would rather have cash than wait, the remaining portion can be sold in its own SAC, as a separate transaction.

The stub also keeps the obligations of any held claim. If your original claim has an open KYC step with Kroll, that step still applies to the retained portion - selling part of the claim does not clear it. The same is true of any other property of the claim. A partial sale moves value; it does not change the nature of what stays behind. The recovery on the FTX 5A class is tracking near 96% of allowed amounts for early distributions, with later tranches projected to push the total above face value, and the stub remains exposed to that same outcome on its share.

Pricing and Practical Considerations

A partial sale is priced the same way a full sale is: as a percentage of the face value of the portion being sold. A clean Class 5A claim trades on the CIS secondary market at roughly 50-60% of face value, and Qredax's published offer range for a clean 5A claim is 90-95% of face value to the seller. The percentage applies to whatever slice you sell - selling part does not change the rate, only the base it is applied to.

A few practical points are worth thinking through before you split a claim:

• Minimum size. Buyers may set a minimum on the portion they will purchase, because each transfer carries the same filing work regardless of size.
• Fees or costs. Confirm whether any transfer-related costs apply and how they are handled.
• Two positions to track. After the split you have a sold portion and a retained portion. Keep your own record of the amounts, so the stub is easy to identify if you sell it later.
• One SAC per transaction. The portion you sell now is covered by its own agreement. A later sale of the stub is a new SAC, negotiated and priced at that time.

The retained portion is priced when you actually sell it, on the terms and recovery picture as they stand then - not fixed today. That cuts both ways. If the FTX recovery continues to firm up, a later sale of the stub may come at a stronger price. If the picture weakens, it may not. Keeping a portion is a deliberate decision to stay exposed to that uncertainty in exchange for the chance of the full recovery.

One more practical point: a partial sale gives you a defined sum, but it does not give you the whole face value of the claim in cash. If your real need is for a specific amount, it is worth working backward - decide the sum you want now, and size the portion you sell so the offer on that slice covers it, rather than picking a fraction at random and seeing what it yields.

Partial Sale vs Full Sale vs Holding

It helps to see the three choices side by side.

A full sale ends the position and removes the wait and the case risk. Holding keeps everything but leaves you on the Trust's schedule. A partial sale is the middle setting - some certainty now, some exposure kept. The right balance depends on how much liquidity you need and how comfortable you are waiting on the remaining tranches.

Is a Partial Sale Right for You

A partial sale makes most sense when you genuinely want both outcomes and cannot decide between them. If you need a defined sum now but believe in the FTX recovery, splitting the claim lets you act on both views at once instead of choosing one.

If you simply want out - no more waiting, no more case to follow - a full sale is cleaner. If you have no need for cash and are content to wait, holding the whole claim costs nothing. A partial sale is a deliberate choice for the in-between case, and it should be made for a reason, not by default.

If you are weighing it, the simplest step is to get a figure. Ask for an offer on the portion you are considering selling. With a concrete number for the slice and a clear view of the stub you would keep, the decision becomes a comparison rather than a guess.

A partial sale is not a compromise in the sense of being a worse version of two better options. For a creditor who genuinely values both cash now and exposure later, it is the option that matches the situation most closely. The all-or-nothing framing is a habit, not a rule - an FTX claim is divisible, and treating it that way simply gives you more control over how and when you realise its value.

FAQ