Sinohope, a Hong Kong investment holdings company established by Leon Li, the co-founder of Huobi (HTX) exchange, is set to retrieve more than the entirety of its deposits locked on the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX through its subsidiary, Hbit.

Announced on May 24 and circulating as of May 28, Hbit finalized the sale of creditor claims amounting to $19.5 million to Delaware-based Ceratosaurus Investors LLC. At the time of FTX's collapse in November 2022, Sinohope found itself with $18.1 million worth of deposits stranded on the platform, marking an impressive recovery ratio of 108% of the firm’s assets with this deal.

The impact of the unreturned funds was substantial for Sinohope. In December 2023, the company disclosed an expected loss of $280 million Hong Kong dollars ($35.86 million) for the first nine months of the year, an increase from $200 million Hong Kong dollars ($25.61 million) lost during the corresponding period in 2022. Among these losses, $86 million Hong Kong dollars ($11 million) represented enterprise deposits immobilized on the bankrupt FTX exchange. To mitigate the fallout, Leon Li personally extended a $14 million personal line of credit to aid affected Sinohope customers.

In a separate legal battle, X-Spot Global, another entity owned by Leon Li, secured an injunction against Huobi Global on December 11, 2023, mandating the cessation of the use of the "Huobi" trademark in Hong Kong. The dispute arose from the registration of the Huobi trademark in 2019, which Leon Li and Du Jun had full ownership of before Huobi Global was acquired by About Capital Management in September 2022. Preceding the acquisition, the rights to the Chinese-language Huobi trademark had been transferred to Leon Li's X-Spot Global, thereby making it the trademark owner. Subsequently, Huobi rebranded to HTX in September.

Amidst the ongoing bull market and the sharp rise in crypto prices, the value of FTX creditors' claims, predominantly denominated in cryptocurrencies, has surged. Current estimations for FTX’s claims recovery now range from 129% to 143%, reflecting an unexpected turn of fortune for those affected by the exchange's collapse.