FTX Unstakes $23.75 Million in Solana, Sparking Sell-Off Concerns

Highlights:

• FTX’s recent unstaking of 177,693 SOL tokens during bankruptcy proceedings raises concerns about possible future sales.
• Alameda Research transferred significant holdings of Worldcoin and AAVE to Binance and Coinbase.
• Solana remains strong despite past turmoil, while Worldcoin and Aave show mixed performance.

According to on-chain data, the FTX/Alameda-tied wallet recently unstaked 177,693 SOL tokens, worth $23.75 million, from the Solana Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network. The redemption occurs as FTX gears up to repaying its distressed investors in the fourth quarter of 2024, following a court order to repay up to $16 billion in debt.

Typically, unstaked tokens are transferred to exchanges for liquidation. However, FTX has not yet moved its recently unstaked Solana assets. The move has raised concerns that FTX may plan to sell additional Solana tokens, similar to previous actions. Earlier this year, the FTX estate sold portions of its Solana assets to institutional investors like Pantera Capital and Galaxy Trading.

Meanwhile, the unstaked 177,693 SOL represents only a fraction of the wallet’s holdings. According to Solscan data, the FTX-associated wallet still holds 7.1 million SOL, valued at approximately $953 million. Market observers have highlighted that if these large SOL holdings were to be unstaked and sold, they could significantly influence the asset’s price.

FTX/Alameda associated wallet H4y…gFZ redeemed 177,693 SOL (US$23.75 million) from Solana PoS staking today, and may transfer SOL to CEX in the future. H4y…gFZ address currently still has up to 7.057 million SOL (US$943 million) in staking. Most of the SOL held by FTX may…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 12, 2024

Before its collapse in November 2022, FTX had strong ties to Solana. The exchange’s downfall caused significant turmoil in the blockchain ecosystem, with SOL’s price dropping as low as $8. Since then, FTX has been steadily liquidating its Solana holdings, with reports suggesting that some SOL might have been sold through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions. 

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and ex-partner of Sam Bankman-Fried, is scheduled for sentencing on September 24. She had previously agreed to a plea deal, admitting all criminal charges against her during Bankman-Fried’s trial.

Alameda Research Transfers WLD and AAVE to Binance and Coinbase 

In a related development, Alameda Research, FTX’s sister company, has transferred some of its crypto holdings to centralized exchanges Binance and Coinbase. According to PeckShield monitoring, Alameda moved 143,800 Worldcoin (WLD), worth around $200,000, to Binance and 373 AAVE, valued at $55,300, to Coinbase.

#PeckShieldAlert #Alameda-labeled address has transferred 143.8K $WLD (worth ~$200K) to #Binance & 373 $AAVE (worth ~$55.3K) to #Coinbase within the last 8 hours pic.twitter.com/dEOj2ro6Zu

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 12, 2024

These transfers are part of the company’s ongoing efforts to liquidate assets amid its bankruptcy proceedings. Meanwhile, the defunct company wallet still retains approximately $220 million in digital assets. This includes significant holdings in BitDAO (BIT), Worldcoin, and Stargate Finance, worth around $130 million.

Price Action of SOL, WLD, and AAVE

Despite these speculations, Solana continues to perform strongly. As per CoinMarketCap, Solana has increased by 2.26% in the past 24 hours, trading at $134.92 at the time of publication. Over the past week, SOL has risen by 2.87% but declined by 5.21% over the past 30 days. The current market cap of SOL is $63.62 billion, with a trading volume of $2.1 billion.

Worldcoin (WLD) has gained 0.45% over the past 24 hours, trading at $1.41. Although its trading volume increased by 15.06% to $96 million, the cryptocurrency’s market cap is currently $609 million, placing it among the top 10 digital assets by market capitalization.

In contrast, Aave (AAVE) has dropped by 1.08%, trading at $147.10 with a market cap of $2.24 billion. Its trading volume is $278 million, and the altcoin’s price is down 77.37% from its all-time high of $666.86.