The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced its decision to return the $550,000 donation made by FTX, the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund, in 2022.
Under the leadership of its new CEO, John Ray III, FTX has been making efforts to recover as much money as possible in order to provide some relief to its creditors. Ray III, an expert in asset recovery from failed corporations who previously handled Enron’s affairs, has been actively pursuing the retrieval of donations made by FTX’s former CEO and founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, during his tenure. A motion filed by FTX Trading Ltd. on Friday stated, “The Met wishes to return the Donations to the FTX Debtors, and the FTX Debtors and the Met have engaged in good faith, arm’s length negotiations concerning the return of the Donations.”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art received the donations in two installments, with $300,000 received in March 2022 and an additional $250,000 in November. The funds were sent by West Realm Shires Services, the operator of FTX.US.
Bankman-Fried gained recognition for his commitment to “effective altruism,” a philosophical and social movement aimed at making philanthropic decisions based on research. The movement gained popularity among Silicon Valley figures, with Bankman-Fried adopting the idea of earning as much money as possible to give back through his Future Fund. In 2022, Bankman-Fried’s fund, led by philosopher Will MacAskill, distributed $160 million in donations. However, allegations arose that Bankman-Fried had been using FTX funds for personal purposes, such as real estate investments, political contributions, and support for his Alameda Research hedge fund. When the value of the FTX token, FTT, suddenly plummeted, resulting in a sell-off, FTX faced a financial crisis and was unable to process customer withdrawals.
Since late April, various institutions and politicians have agreed to return FTX’s donated funds, amounting to $6.2 million, according to Decrypt.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has yet to issue an official comment on the matter. The decision to return the donations reflects the museum’s commitment to maintaining transparency and ethical practices regarding financial contributions.