
FTX was one of a number of exchanges on which London-based crypto trader Lee Rees, 43, earned a living, profiting from fleeting price differences across the crypto market.
When FTX collapsed last year, it took 100,000 dollars out of Rees' money, about half his annual income.
Rees is among more than an estimated 1 million clients facing losses after FTX, one of the biggest crypto exchanges at the time, suddenly collapsed and filed for bankruptcy in November. It soon became clear that customer funds had gone missing.
The FTX founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, is accused of embezzling $10 billion from unsuspecting customers to prop up his hedge fund Alameda Research, buy luxury properties and fund political donations. He was arraigned in court in New York this week.
Bankman-Fried's lawyer told the court that he did not steal customer money, as he told investigators on Wednesday. Bankman-Fried will plead not guilty to charges stemming from a sexual assault.
Prosecutors are asking FTX customers to testify that they were told their assets were safe and to share how FTX's collapse affected them.
Customer service Reuters spoke with said customers have created support groups to help each other navigate the intricate bankruptcy claim process, while others said they have been targeted by scammers promising to retrieve their cash.
And some - unidentified - are back on the crypto roller coaster.
Rees' claim was submitted via a website created by bankruptcy administrator Kroll, which he described as a 'nightmare'.
The company has recouped $7.3 billion of the missing funds as of April, but people asked by Reuters said they had yet to get any money back.
When asked by Reuters to withhold his full name, Maxime said he had a'six-figure' sum on FTX profit since 2017 from trading crypto.
Sunil Kavuri, a finance expert who said he lost seven-figures on FTX, decided to start posting information on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to combat misinformation.
He quickly built a following, and says he now receives dozens of messages daily from creditors asking for advice.
New scams are also a growing problem for banks and creditors. Maxime said he has received emails claiming he is eligible to recover his money which takes him to a phishing site. He added that he has been pursued by similar schemes.
The bankruptcy process is expected to expand into 2024, and some creditors, tired of waiting, have sold their claim. Xclaim lists more than 2,000 FTX claims for sale, worth around $600 million at last November's crypto prices, Sedigh said.
Maxime, who is sticking with the bankruptcy process, said that if he gets his money back, he will still invest in crypto, but if not, he will stop. He added: 'The industry will survive,' but he said he will be more wary about which platforms he uses.