Pantera is Raising $250M to Buy SOL from FTX Estate: Report

Crypto-focused asset manager Pantera Capital is reportedly raising money from large investors to buy discounted Solana tokens from the bankrupt FTX estate.

Pantera Seeks to Raise $250M

According to a Bloomberg report that cited marketing materials sent to prospective investors, Pantera is seeking funds for the ‘Pantera Solana Fund,’ which would have the option to buy up to $250 million worth of SOL tokens from FTX at $59.95 or 39% below the average price over the past 30 days.

The report stated that investors would have to agree to a vesting period of up to four years in exchange for this discount.

Pantera was aiming to close the fund by the end of February, but it is unclear how much money they were able to raise. Investors participating in the fund must invest at least $25 million and have their SOL tokens initially locked and gradually vested over four years. 

The asset manager plans to charge a management fee of 0.75% and a performance fee of 10%.

Pantera’s investment is an opportunity to capitalize on the discounted price of SOL and potentially profit as the Solana ecosystem grows. On the other hand, the deal will allow FTX to offload its SOL holdings and return value to creditors without putting immediate pressure on the token’s price.

SOL Performance Post-FTX Implosion 

As of Wednesday, March 6, FTX held 41.1 million SOL tokens, worth approximately $5.4 billion in current prices and equivalent to 10% of the token’s total supply.

Since the FTX implosion in November 2022, SOL’s price has surged by nearly 4x after facing a tumultuous period. Over the past year, the token has jumped by approximately 650%, thereby increasing the value of FTX’s holdings and giving the firm the opportunity to fully repay creditors.

SOL was trading at $142.10 at press time, representing an 11.37% increase in the past 24 hours.

Disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was a major backer of the Solana network. Moreover, FTX and its sister company, Alameda Research, were heavily invested in the Solana ecosystem.