U.S. federal authorities have completed the process of selling shares in Anthropic that were seized from key figures of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The stakes in question belong to Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh, who were part of the inner circle of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Deal Details and Seizure Procedure
After the court ordered Ellison and Singh to forfeit the securities as part of their sentences, control over the assets passed to the state. Subsequently, these stakes were bought out by current Anthropic investors. It is important to emphasize that the buyers and the mechanism for selecting deal participants remain undisclosed, adding intrigue to the process of selling the confiscated property.
Notably, Ellison and Singh had invested in Anthropic jointly with Bankman-Fried at the time. However, the fate of their assets turned out differently than that of the FTX founder's stake. Bankman-Fried's package was sold through the standard bankruptcy procedure in the interests of the exchange's creditors, while the shares of his associates were seized on a separate legal basis—as potential proceeds from criminal activity.
Timeline and Legal Nuances
Control over Ellison's stake passed to the authorities back in February 2025, and over Singh's share—in April of the same year. The prosecution consistently insisted that these assets could be considered property obtained through unlawful actions. At the same time, according to bankruptcy case documents, the proceeds from the sale of these shares were not credited to the FTX compensation fund's estate.
It is worth recalling that in June 2026, information emerged about Bankman-Fried's plans to launch his own token after his release from prison.
My analytical conclusion: The sale of confiscated Anthropic shares is a landmark precedent demonstrating how the U.S. jurisdiction handles assets linked to high-profile criminal cases. The fact that current investors acted as buyers indicates strong demand for a stake in a promising AI startup. However, the opacity of the deal's terms may raise questions from the market, especially given that the funds did not go toward compensation for affected FTX clients.