Alameda Research Sold Ether-based Tokens for Bitcoin In The Past 24 Hours

CoinDesk reported that several tokens owned by Alameda Research, the trading unit led by Sam Bankman-Fried, who is facing criminal charges related to the company’s collapse and FTX, were sold for millions of dollars late on Wednesday. 

According to on-chain data analyzed by crypto research firm Arkham Intelligence, approximately $1.7 million worth of tokens from Alameda-linked wallets were sold on the open market over a period of several hours. The sale of these tokens raised concerns among some users on Crypto Twitter about a potential drop in their prices. On-chain data showed that Ethereum-based tokens, such as USD Coin (USDC), dai (DAI), curve (CRV), ether (ETH), and convex (CVX), were transferred from several wallets to just two wallets and later sold for tether stablecoins (USDT).

According to data from Arkham Intelligence, Alameda Research still holds more than $112 million worth of various cryptocurrencies, a decrease from the $140 million it held in mid-November, as further reported by CoinDesk. 

What is going on with Alameda Research?

In November, FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, filed for bankruptcy after it was revealed that Alameda, a hedge fund owned by Bankman-Fried, was largely supported by FTT tokens, digital assets created by FTX.

A report/analysis by the crypto compliance firm Argus also showed that Alameda Research used insider information of which tokens will soon be listed on FTX to buy them earlier. Basically, the company bought into them before they were even publicly announced. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported that:

“On the days that FTX said it would be listing tokens between the start of 2021 and March of this year, Alameda held roughly $60 million worth of tokens combined across 18 listings of coins tied to the Ethereum blockchain, according to an analysis of public blockchain from Argus, a blockchain analytics firm.”

Reuters reported that Caroline Ellison, ex-CEO of Alameda Research, confessed to the court that she had consented with Sam Bankman-Fried to conceal from FTX’s investors, creditors, and patrons that the hedge fund could obtain unrestricted sums from the exchange, as indicated by a transcript of her December 19th plea hearing which was revealed on Friday.

Caroline Ellison revealed to Judge Ronnie Abrams in the Manhattan federal court that “we had created certain quarterly balance sheets to obscure the magnitude of Alameda’s borrowing and the billions of dollars in loans that Alameda had provided to FTX executives and associated parties,“ as per the transcript. As part of her plea deal, Caroline Ellison is working with prosecutors.