FTX Sold Its $200K Cursor Stake for Peanuts and It Is Now Worth $3 Billion
FTX invested $200,000 in Cursor three years ago. Then the exchange collapsed, the bankruptcy estate liquidated everything, and that stake was sold for a fraction of what it would eventually become. Today, that position would be worth approximately $3 billion. The timing is so bad it is almost poetic.
What's Actually Happening
FTX's bankruptcy estate has been selling assets to repay creditors. The Cursor stake — a modest early-stage investment of $200,000 — was included in those liquidations. By the time Cursor's valuation reached the levels implied by SpaceX's $60 billion acquisition option, FTX's creditors had already sold and moved on.
The math is brutal: a $200K investment in a company now valued at roughly $3 billion would represent a 15,000x return. Instead, FTX's creditors received pennies on the dollar for a position that would have made them whole many times over.
Why It Matters
This is a case study in bankruptcy timing and asset valuation. When FTX collapsed, Cursor was a promising but unproven startup. The bankruptcy process moves slowly and conservatively — assets get sold at the worst possible time, to buyers who understand the discount opportunity better than the sellers.
It also says something about how fast the AI coding market has moved. In three years, Cursor went from an obscure bet to a company that SpaceX is offering $60 billion to acquire. See: the full story on SpaceX's Cursor option.
My Take
FTX's creditors losing this return is genuinely painful. But the real story is what it reveals about venture capital in AI. A $200K check three years ago at the right company equals $3 billion today. That is not investment skill — that is proximity to the right idea at the right time.
The lesson for crypto investors: if you are going to hold volatile assets, make sure your exposure to good early-stage equity is not getting quietly liquidated during the downswing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did FTX originally invest in Cursor? $200,000 — a small early-stage investment.
When was the stake sold? During FTX's bankruptcy proceedings, though the exact sale date has not been publicly disclosed.
What would the stake be worth today? Approximately $3 billion, based on Cursor's current implied valuation from SpaceX's acquisition option.
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