Several wallets associated with Alameda Research, the trading arm of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.com, came to life on Wednesday, swapping various cryptocurrencies.
See related article: FTX customers file lawsuit for priority repayment
Fast facts
- Martin Lee, a data journalist with blockchain analytics firm Nansen, noticed on Wednesday “odd” transactions linked to Alameda’s wallets.
- Various Ethereum-based tokens were consolidated into two main wallets, swapped for Ethereum (ETH) and stablecoin Tether (USDT). The funds were later sent to multiple wallets and decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges such as FixedFloat and ChangeNow, said Lee.
- Over US$100,000 in cryptocurrencies have been consolidated into one wallet, Nansen data shows, as of press time.
- The pseudonymous blockchain sleuth, who goes by ZachXBT on Twitter, argued that the suspicious transactions might not originate from the legal team for FTX and Alameda’s liquidation, as it is unlikely that they would use decentralized finance (DeFi) services for bankruptcy proceedings.
- A legal representative of FTX and Alameda’s restructuring team did not reply to emails and phone calls from Forkast.
- The timing of the suspicious activity comes just a few days following Bankman-Fried’s release from police custody on a US$250 million bail agreement. Bankman-Fried was ordered by a judge to stay with his parents in Palo Alto, California under electronic monitoring.
- Former FTX customers filed a class action lawsuit on Tuesday against the exchange and its top executives including Sam Bankman-Fried, aiming to gain ownership of Alameda’s assets that are traceable to customers, which they claim “never belonged to FTX or Alameda.”
See related article: Sam Bankman-Fried home for Christmas after making US$250 million bail in U.S.