Crypto Twitter Abuzz: Is SBF Secretly Behind BALD? Latest Conspiracy Sparks Heated Debates

Cointelegraph reported that crypto Twitter has been abuzz with discussion following a new conspiracy theory that suggests FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried may secretly be involved with one of the most controversial new memecoins on Base.

The memecoin in question is called BALD, named humorously after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and it experienced a staggering 289,000% gain in its first 24 hours of trading after its launch on July 30.

However, after the anonymous developer of BALD removed a significant amount of ETH in liquidity, the coin's price dropped by over 85%, leading to allegations of a rug pull, which the developer has denied.

As a result, blockchain sleuths began investigating the developer's past on-chain activities and found a possible connection to SBF. The Ethereum wallet address responsible for deploying the BALD token had received substantial funding from wallets associated with FTX and Alameda Research, raising suspicions that SBF might be involved.

One of the conspiracy theorists, an anonymous DeFi commentator named Downsin, suggested that this link indicated SBF might be trying to recover losses "from prison," although it's important to note that SBF is not in prison but is under house arrest at his parent's home awaiting an October trial.

Further speculation arose when data editor Andrew Thurman discovered that the same wallet address had made numerous transfers to blacklisted USDT addresses and had apparent connections to Alameda.

Prominent trader Hsaka presented a conspiratorial scenario in which the timing of the BALD launch and crash would provide SEC Chair Gary Gensler with ammunition to prosecute Coinbase, a former rival to FTX.

Another anonymous commentator called "Hype" pointed out eerie similarities between the developer and SBF, such as sentence structure in social media posts. The wallet associated with the developer had been active for a long time and was one of the first voters on proposals on the DeFi platform Sushi Swap.

Despite the speculations, some crypto pundits argued against SBF's involvement, citing tight internet usage restrictions imposed on him as part of his bail conditions. Crypto influencer Tiffany Fong, who has spoken with SBF since his arrest, refuted the conspiracy, stating that SBF has been using a "flip phone without internet connection" since his bail conditions were revised in April.

Source: X

Fong also emphasized that all of SBF's visitors are subjected to security searches and prohibited from bringing in outside electronic devices.

Resources:

Cointelegraph

X