The FTX collapse that rocked the crypto world in late 2022 is trending toward a happy ending—for some investors, at least. This week, FTX’s bankruptcy estate began repaying customers who lost their assets after the platform’s bankruptcy—a resolution that once seemed impossible.

On Tuesday, the FTX bankruptcy estate released $1.2 billion to affected customers with claims totaling less than $50,000. This initial distribution is the first step in a lengthy repayment plan, which could end up distributing a total of $16.5 billion.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the estate laid out plans for another distribution that is planned to take place in May.

“FTX appreciates our customers and creditors’ patience and collaboration throughout this complicated process,” John J. Ray III, the CEO of the FTX estate, said in a statement. “Our work is not over—we intend to continue our recovery efforts and returning funds to additional claim classes.”

Bankruptcy repayments

In the chaos that followed the collapse, it was difficult for the advisors who took control of FTX to calculate how much cash and other assets the company held, due to its lax record-keeping. They initially thought the company would only be able to repay a portion of what customers were owed.

But that changed throughout the bankruptcy proceedings as advisors rediscovered missing assets and the crypto market rebounded. Another boon for the estate was the sale of FTX’s holdings in AI startup Anthropic last March, which was worth more than $880 million.

Still, affected customers might not be getting back as much as they had hoped for. Repayment values are based on prices from Nov. 11, 2022—the day FTX filed for bankruptcy—and are paid in U.S. dollars, according to the website. Therefore, despite the fact that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have rapidly appreciated in recent months, creditors will only receive a portion of what they are currently worth. For example, Bitcoin was worth $17,000 at the time of FTX’s collapse but is now trading at $96,000.

Either way, the repayments have been viewed as a welcome financial reprieve by those who thought they would never see their FTX funds again. Sunil Kavuri, an FTX creditor turned activist who lost $2 million in the collapse, has yet to receive his funds but celebrated the initial distribution as a turning point in the yearslong battle.

“It has been a long and difficult 2.5yrs with suicides, depression, divorces… I am grateful and it has been a privilege to fight and represent FTX customers,” he wrote on X.