The troubled FTX exchange and its affiliated firm, Alameda Research, have been offloading millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrencies to various platforms since the start of 2024. The move comes as the exchange faces a court-ordered restructuring plan and a backlash from former regulators and customers.
According to PeckShield, a blockchain analytics company, crypto wallets associated with FTX and Alameda have transferred over $38.8 million in digital assets to different exchanges in the past 37 days. The transfers involved a range of cryptocurrencies, including Ether (ETH), Ton (TON), Fantom (FTM), Cronos (CRO), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Tether Gold (XAUT), and others.
PeckShield reported that the wallets sent at least $7 million in Feb alone. On Feb. 4, the wallets moved $2.6 million in ETH to Coinbase and about $1.1 million in TON and FTM to FalconX and Wintermute. On Feb. 6, the same day as this report, the wallets moved at least $3.3 million in various coins to Coinbase, Coinbase Prime, FalconX and Binance.
In Jan, the wallets linked to FTX and Alameda transferred at least $35 million to exchanges. On Jan. 4, the wallets moved $4.1 million in CRO to Coinbase. They followed it up with another $2.4 million in ETH transfer to Coinbase and a 200 WBTC, worth $9 million, transfer to Binance on Jan. 9.
Later in Jan, FTX and Alameda moved another $16.3 million to various platforms. On Jan. 17, wallets connected to the firms sent $8.9 million in XAUT to Coinbase and $2.6 million in ETH to Wintermute. The wallets followed it up on Jan. 30 by moving $2.3 million in ETH to Coinbase, $1.3 million in various altcoins to Binance and a $1.28 million transfer to GSR Markets.
FTX Faces Restructuring Plan & Criticism
The massive crypto transfers occurred amid the ongoing legal troubles of FTX, which collapsed in Nov 2023 after losing over $850 million of customer funds in a hacking incident. However, the exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and was ordered by a court to submit a restructuring plan by Jan. 31, 2024.
However, the exchange’s lawyer, Andy Dietderich, told the court that the plan would not involve a re-launch of the exchange, but would focus on repaying its customers in full. However, he also said that this was an objective and not a guarantee, leaving the possibility of partial or no repayment.
Also, the plan was met with skepticism and criticism from former regulators and customers, who accused the exchange and its legal team of profiting from the debacle. On Feb. 4, John Reed Stark, a former SEC official, called the plan a “highway robbery of highway robbers.” He argued that the exchange should be liquidated, and its assets distributed to the creditors, rather than allowing the lawyers to charge exorbitant fees and expenses.
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