US Government Sells FTX-Linked Anthropic Stake for $627M

Anthropic's IPO filing has uncovered what became of shares once held by two of Sam Bankman-Fried's senior executives. The US government offloaded them for $627 million.

The money went to FTX creditors. Nine unnamed investors received the shares, valued at roughly $3.94 billion based on a $1.5 trillion valuation. Their identities remain undisclosed.

How Did the US Government Come to Hold Anthropic Shares?

Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh put $50 million into a young AI startup in 2022. Ellison ran Alameda Research, FTX's sister trading firm, while Singh served as an FTX executive.

A few months later, FTX fell apart. Both pleaded guilty and testified against Bankman-Fried, who is now serving 25 years.

A court ordered their shares forfeited, effectively transferring them to the government as crime proceeds. The US held them by April 2025.

What Does Anthropic's IPO Filing Reveal?

On October 26, Anthropic submitted its S-1 registration statement, the document required before a company can sell shares publicly. The filing does not name Ellison or Singh. Instead, it describes 4,453,900 Series B shares in these words:

“…had been forfeited by former holders in legal proceedings to which we were not a party,” the filing states.

Business Insider reported that this number exactly matches their $50 million investment.

Anthropic bought the shares from the government in October 2025 at $140.9676 each. It then resold them to nine buyers at cost.

Who Got the Cash, and Who Got the Gain?

The cash proceeds went to the FTX bankruptcy estate, the fund for repaying customers. Court filings show the Justice Department sent $638 million to the estate in late 2025.

“One of the Justice Department’s top priorities is returning forfeited funds to victims through the asset forfeiture program whenever the law allows,” said a Justice Department spokesperson.

The estate pays creditors in rounds, including a $900 million fifth payout in July.

The nine buyers are on the other side. Their shares could be worth six times what they paid. The US Marshals Service reportedly handled the sale.

The estate sold Bankman-Fried's own $500 million stake in 2024 for $1.3 billion.

Anthropic plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT. Once trading begins, the market will price both stakes.