Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has kicked off its second round of repayments to creditors, disbursing over $5 billion to individuals and entities with approved claims.
This follows the firm’s initial payout of $1.9 billion and marks a major step in the collapsed exchange’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Will FTX Payout Spark a Potential Market Rally?
In a May 30 update, the defunct firm confirmed that the second round of distribution targets eligible claims in the Convenience and Non-Convenience Classes that have met the necessary pre-distribution conditions.
“This represents continued progress returning cash to FTX’s customers and creditors. I am proud of the outstanding success of the recoveries to date. Our work continues on recovering more for creditors and resolving outstanding claims,” John Ray III, FTX CEO, said.
Sunil Kavuri, a prominent FTX creditor advocate, shared that Kraken began processing FTX US distributions on May 30, with international disbursements scheduled for June 2. The total for US claims stands at $312 million, of which $168 million belongs to claims over $50,000.
The exchange pointed out that customers with Dotcom Entitlement Claims are receiving 72% of their eligible funds, while those under US Customer Entitlement Claims receive 54%.
Convenience Claimants, typically with smaller balances, will receive 120% of their initial claims. In addition, roughly 61% of General Unsecured and Digital Asset Loan Claims will also be repaid during this phase.
Meanwhile, FTX has also issued a security notice warning users of rising phishing scams tied to the payout process. The exchange urged all claimants to remain vigilant and verify communication sources before taking any action.
Researchers at Coinbase also echoed this view. They suggested that institutional recipients may look to re-enter the market, especially as regulatory clarity improves across key jurisdictions.
Solana has posted a 7% increase in the past 24 hours, aligning with the broader market’s recovery. While this surge may appear promising, technical and on-chain data suggest that the coin could face significant resistance.
Despite the recent rally, SOL risks shedding these gains and could fall below the $100 mark if bearish pressures dominate.
Solana’s Price Surge Lacks Momentum
While impressive, SOL’s current rally largely reflects the broader market trend rather than demand for the altcoin. The bearish divergence formed by its Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) shows this.
At press time, SOL’s CMF is below the zero line at -0.09, indicating a lack of buying momentum among SOL market participants.
The CMF indicator measures money flow into and out of an asset. A bearish divergence emerges when the CMF is negative while the price is climbing. The divergence signals that despite the upward movement, there is more selling pressure than buying interest, suggesting weak bullish momentum.
This indicates that SOL’s current price rally may lack sustainability and could be at risk of reversing or stalling as new demand remains scarce.
Further, the coin’s long/short ratio highlights that its market participants lean more heavily toward the short side. At press time, this stands at 0.97.
The long/short ratio measures the balance between long positions (betting on price increases) and short positions (betting on price decreases) in the market. When the ratio is below zero like this, it indicates that there are more short positions than long positions.
This suggests that bearish sentiment remains dominant in the SOL market, and its futures traders are anticipating a decline in the asset’s price.
Solana in Crucial Zone: Will $95 Hold or Lead to a Steeper Decline?
During Monday’s intraday trading session, SOL plummeted to a 12-month low of $95.26. Although it has since rebounded to trade at $108.77 at press time, the lingering bearish bias leaves the coin at risk of shedding these gains.
If SOL witnesses a pullback, it could break below the support at $107.88. If it falls back below $100, the coin’s price could fall toward $79.
On the other hand, if the uptrend continues, backed by a surge in new demand, SOL’s price could breach the resistance at $111.06 and climb toward $130.82.
The recent depeg incident involving sUSD from Synthetix has highlighted that this sector remains fraught with risks despite the immense potential of algorithmic stablecoins.
The sUSD incident is not the first to expose the vulnerabilities of algorithmic stablecoins. From technical challenges and regulatory pressures to dwindling community trust, projects in this space must navigate numerous obstacles to survive and thrive.
The Landscape of the Algorithmic Stablecoin Market
Algorithmic stablecoins, which maintain their value without direct asset backing, were once hailed as a breakthrough in decentralized finance (DeFi). However, according to CoinMarketCap data from April 2025, the total stablecoin market capitalization stands at $234 billion, while algorithmic stablecoins account for about $458 million, equivalent to just 0.2%.
This stark disparity reflects the reality that algorithmic stablecoins have yet to gain widespread trust from the community. High-profile failures like the collapse of UST/LUNA in 2022, coupled with regulatory uncertainties such as the EU’s MiCA framework, have fueled skepticism.
More recently, the depeg of Synthetix’s sUSD is a typical example of this model’s inherent risks.
A Deep Dive into Synthetix’s sUSD Depeg
Synthetix is a well-known DeFi protocol celebrated for its synthetic asset system. Within this ecosystem, sUSD is an algorithmic stablecoin designed to peg its value at 1 USD, backed by the SNX token and price data from Chainlink.
However, sUSD has faced significant challenges with a prolonged depeg recently. At the time of BeInCrypto’s report, sUSD was trading at 0.77 USD, which has persisted since late March 2025. The primary cause was a major liquidity provider withdrawing from the sBTC/wBTC pool on Curve, which triggered intense selling pressure on sUSD. This forced users to convert other synthetic assets like sETH or sBTC into sUSD, exacerbating the price decline.
On April 21, 2025, Kain Warwick, the founder of Synthetix, announced on X that the team had implemented an sUSD staking mechanism to address the issue. However, he noted that the mechanism remains manual and lacks a fully functional user interface (UI), which is expected to launch in a few days.
“Update on the sUSD depeg. We have implemented an sUSD staking mechanism but it’s very manual until the UI goes live in a few days. Here was my hot take from discord though,” shared Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix.
Warwick further stated that if the incentive mechanism (carrot) proves ineffective, Synthetix would adopt stricter measures (stick) to compel stakers in the 420 pool to participate more actively. He emphasized that, with the collective net worth of SNX stakers reaching billions of USD, Synthetix has the financial resources to stabilize sUSD and resume development of derivative products on Layer 1.
No Successfully Algorithmic Stablecoin Project
Before the sUSD depeg incident, the market witnessed the dramatic collapse of UST/LUNA in 2022. UST, Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, suffered a severe depeg, dragging LUNA’s value down from $120 to near zero. This event caused billions of USD in losses and significantly eroded trust in the algorithmic stablecoin model.
More recently, the ‘Godfather of DeFi’, Andre Cronje, behind Sonic (formerly Fantom), also shifted direction. Sonic initially developed a USD-based algorithmic stablecoin but later pivoted to a stablecoin pegged to the UAE dirham.
“Pretty sure our team cracked algo stable coins today, but previous cycle gave me so much PTSD not sure if we should implement,” Cronje stated.
Beyond technical risks, algorithmic stablecoins face mounting regulatory pressures. The EU’s MiCA regulation, effective since June 2024, imposes strict standards on stablecoin issuers to ensure consumer protection and financial stability. Under MiCA, algorithmic stablecoins are classified as ART (Asset-Referenced Token) or EMT (E-Money Token), requiring projects to meet complex compliance demands.
This intensifies the pressure on developers, especially as other jurisdictions also tighten crypto regulations.
These examples show the vulnerability of algorithmic stablecoins to liquidity shocks and market sentiment, particularly due to their lack of direct asset backing.
The Potential of Algorithmic Stablecoins
Despite the challenges, algorithmic stablecoins still hold developmental potential. A March 2025 post on X by CampbellJAustin suggested that a next-generation decentralized algorithmic stablecoin is feasible if lessons are learned from past failures.
“I actually think a next-gen decentralized algorithmic stablecoin is possible. I also think it will not be done correctly by the crypto community because the primary constraints are economic and risk management, not technological,” CampbellJAustin shared.
However, projects must focus on building more price stability mechanisms, combining algorithms with liquidity safeguards to succeed. Additionally, they should prepare for regulatory requirements, particularly in regions with stringent rules like the EU. Transparency in operations, regular audits, and clear communication with users are crucial to rebuilding community trust.
By addressing these factors, projects in this space can seize the opportunity to regain confidence and drive innovation.