Apollo Global Management and Attestor are among the better-known investors to have held conversations on buying claims, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Niche investment firm 507 Capital has already purchased several claims from hedge funds that wanted quick exits from FTX even if it meant selling out at less than they might have received from the bankruptcy process.

Once one of the world's biggest crypto exchanges, FTX filed for bankruptcy protection last month, leaving about 1 million creditors owed billions of dollars in aggregate. The top 50 creditors alone are owed $3.1 billion, according to court filings. While many will wait for the results of a likely years-long bankruptcy process, others are turning to brokers and buyers of distressed debt for quick sales.

Collecting money now means taking massive losses on their positions by selling for just cents on the dollar to buyers with the patience to try and recover more from the bankruptcy process.