Alameda-labeled addresses remain active, and one of those wallets received more than $6.2M in an OKX withdrawal. The wallet activated while rumors circulated about preparations to repay FTX creditors with available funds.
A wallet tagged as belonging to Alameda Research has received 6.275M USDT from an OKX withdrawal. The funds flowed into a known wallet now containing more than $230M in tokens. The inflows took two transactions, for 5M USDT and a smaller one for 1.275M USDT.
Alameda’s wallet activity arrives at a time when FTX creditors are tallying up remaining resources to repay balances at the time of the exchange’s collapse. Since 2022, assets held by FTX have appreciated, but its creditors may receive their initial balances in fiat denomination at the time of the loss.
Alameda’s holdings stem from a series of extensive investments during the crypto bull market of 2021. In the past few days, Alameda has been moving funds to different destinations, labeled as part of the FTX bankruptcy procedures. The inflows of tokens and stablecoins only stay in intermediary wallets for a few hours, with most sent to a special pooled wallet labeled FTX bankruptcy estate.
The wallet now contains more than $142M of assets with varied liquidity, most of them on the Ethereum blockchain. The portfolio is down by $16M in the past month, as tokens start to be affected by the market withdrawal. Alameda’s largest holdings are in BIT and WLD tokens, making up $100M of the estate wallet.
The wallet also contains Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs currently valued at 843 ETH, as well as Azukis for another 39 ETH. Alameda participated in the NFT craze, also acquiring Otherdeeds form the Otherside game, as well as Sandbox land plots. Most of the NFTs owned are high-liquidity and retain a reasonably high floor price.
A total of 29 known public Alameda research accounts remain, all of them only containing trace amounts of ETH. One of the wallets became active in December 2022, frantically selling and mixing tokens, putting the proceeds into ETH, BTC, and stablecoins.
Alameda suspected in WLUNA ownership
One of the latest hype waves in the crypto market has been around Wrapped Luna (WLUNA), a remnant of the failed Terra (LUNA) project. A new community has formed around WLUNA, hoping for a Coinbase relisting and renewed price action.
The WLUNA community is gaining speed while waiting for the bridge between WLUNA and Luna Classic (LUNC) to close.
The other tool to prop up the price of WLUNA and cause a rally is a series of token burns. The WLUNA burns are happening now. However, they have failed to spark meaningful trading for the asset so far. Despite this, holders refuse to bridge back, instead sending WLUNA to a null contract, in expectation of reviving the remaining assets.
Based on rumors, Alameda’s wallets may contain up to 230B WLUNA, with no way to estimate if it would be able to participate in the burns. The last chance to turn existing WLUNA into LUNC will end on October 30, after the one-month period of running a temporary Shuttle Bridge.
Alameda is also suspected of selling WLUNA to Coinbase just before trading halted on March 12, 2022, based on identified addresses on-chain.
It is possible Alameda has yet undisclosed wallets containing potentially valuable assets. Alameda wallets have also been tied to WLUNA activity and a potential Wallet X that may hold remnant funds, to be locked forever after the closing of the Shuttle Bridge. If there are no further developments, it is also possible that any remaining Alameda reserves and the community-held tokens will be worthless.
At this point, the shift between WLUNA and LUNC is offering high-risk arbitrage opportunities. Large wallets are selling, though it is uncertain if Alameda’s reserves can sway the market. Both WLUNA and LUNC are extremely low-value and may not take off, even with the community meme hype.
Alameda has also seen rumors of still holding unannounced wallets containing Solana (SOL), possibly affecting the market. Previously, FTX and Alameda were also suspected of wash trading and supporting a series of coins and tokens, having an outsized effect on the subsequent bear market.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Hristina Vasileva
