3 SBF-related wallets swapped $90M stETH for Ethereum at height of market depeg News โธ FTX โธ Ethereum โธ Bankruptcy
3 SBF-related wallets swapped $90M stETH for Ethereum at height of market depeg
Grogan said that the previously unknown wallets became public after they sent ETH and stETH to the bankrupt FTX's estate this January.
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Updated: Aug. 6, 2023 at 2:30 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield identified three wallets that converted 63,860 staked Ethereum (stETH) โ roughly $90 million โ to Ethereum (ETH) when the stETH/ETH peg dropped to a monthly low between May 2022 and June 2022.
The firm said the three wallets withdrew the stETH from FTX, converted it to ETH, and then transferred the funds back to the exchange. It added that these transactions might be connected to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).
The wallets’ transactions
When stETH/ETH dropped to $0.971 on May 13, 2022, “0x6b92” withdrew 15,000 stETH โ worth $23.4 million โ from FTX, swapped it for 14,300 ETH, and transferred it to FTX.
Two other wallets would carry out similar transactions when the stETH/ETH peg widened to $0.955 on June 11, 2022.
Peckshield said wallets “0x1b23” and “0x2e85” cumulatively withdrew 49,000 stETH worth $66 million from FTX, swapped them for 42,000 ETH, and returned the funds to FTX.
Alameda Research connection
A director at Coinbase, Conor Grogan, tweeted that two wallets withdrew over $75 million stETH from FTX on June 8, 2022, and sold everything on the market.
This move triggered a series of events that eventually affected bankrupt crypto lender Celsius and crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, according to Grogan. He pointed out that the stETH depeg “led to a significant stress in the market,” adding that the crypto lender halted withdrawals just four days after the event.
“Alameda could have processed this trade OTC on behalf of Celsius or another big party.”
The previously unknown wallets became public after they sent ETH and stETH to the bankrupt exchange’s estate in January, according to Grogan.
However, the motive behind the swaps remains unknown. Alameda took a seven-figure slippage on the trade, which raises questions as to why the savvy crypto trading firm will make such a move, according to Grogan.
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Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.
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Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Lido Staked ETH
$3,603.48
stETH is a token that represents staked ether in Lido, combining the value of initial deposit + staking rewards.
FTX
FTX is a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, that was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao “Gary” Wang in May 2019.
Alameda Research
Alameda Research was once a principal trading firm, operating as an arm of the failed crypto exchange, FTX.
Celsius Network
Celsius Network is a bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company that was founded in 2017 and headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO, and co-founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.