Gate News message, April 22 — SpaceX announced a major partnership with AI coding startup Cursor today, with an option to acquire the company for $60 billion. The deal has given fresh ammunition to Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is currently incarcerated and pushing for a presidential pardon, as it demonstrates the potential value recovery he has long argued FTX could have achieved.
In April 2022, Alameda Research, the trading firm founded by SBF, invested $200,000 in Cursor’s parent company Anysphere, acquiring approximately 5% equity. When FTX collapsed in November 2022, the bankruptcy court took control of the company. In April 2023, the FTX bankruptcy estate sold that same 5% stake for $200,000—the identical amount Alameda had invested. Based on SpaceX’s $60 billion valuation announced today, that 5% stake would now be worth approximately $3 billion, representing a 15,000x return.
SBF has long maintained that FTX was not truly insolvent and that bankruptcy lawyers destroyed value by liquidating assets prematurely. In February 2026, he shared projections suggesting FTX could have reached a net asset value of $78 billion after asset recovery. His parents have also been active in seeking a pardon, appearing on CNN in March to argue that FTX customers received full repayment. However, creditors noted that reimbursements were based on 2022 valuations, not current market prices. President Trump has stated he will not pardon SBF, and prediction markets currently estimate the probability of a 2026 pardon at only 5%.
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