Mysterious whale ‘0xd275e’ linked to FTX collapse, Tether depeg, and recent $75M token transfers Mysterious whale ‘0xd275e’ linked to FTX collapse, Tether depeg, and recent $75M token transfers
CryptoSlate analysis of a mysterious account linked to major crypto events raises questions about its true intentions.
3 min read
Updated: Jun. 21, 2023 at 6:33 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Recent on-chain activity involving the Ethereum address ‘0xd275e‘ has caught the attention of the crypto community.
Through CryptoSlate‘s on-chain analysis, no concrete evidence pointing to the owner of the account has been discovered. However, the account has actively traded large amounts of tokens during key industry events.
The whale account has been identified during on-chain analysis of both the FTX collapse, Tether depeg, and now the movement of $75 million back onto crypto exchanges.
‘0xd275e’ moves $75M tokens to exchanges.
According to a tweet from Spot On Chain, the address deposited 1,140 WBTC ($32.89M) to Bitfinex and 15,000 ETH ($27.17M) to Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken within a span of 1.5 hours on June 21.
Spot On Chain identified that this address has been actively transferring significant amounts of cryptocurrencies between major exchanges, potentially indicating manipulation activities, given its murky history.
CryptoSlate reviewed recent ‘0xd275e’ transactions on Etherscan and found a series of transactions, including withdrawals, transfers, and repayments over the past 24 hours. These transactions involve Aave interest-bearing Wrapped Ether (WETH), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and USD Coin (USDC), confirming the active participation of this address in the DeFi ecosystem.
However, the address has also appeared in previous industry analyses, according to Noah_nftn. In November 2022, the account claimed that former FTX employees disclosed that ‘0xd275e’ was involved in misappropriating customer funds.
The diagram below shows the account at the center of several large transactions between Aave, Bitfinex, Binance, Lido, Genesis Trading, and FTX.
Tether Depeg
More recently, the account also appeared at the heart of the brief USDT depeg that Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino called a “good stress test” for the company.
On June 19, Spot On Chain asserted that the address “appears to be selling $ETH and repaying the debt on #Aave.” It further posited that ‘0xd275e’ borrowed 50M USDC from Aave after the USDT depegging and started buying USDT to arbitrage, suggesting potential involvement in restoring the USDT peg.
Lookonchain has previously speculated that ‘0xd275e’ might be related to Tether or the FTX Accounts Drainer, which would have significant implications for the industry. On June 15, it questioned whether the account might belong to Tether, while back in November 2022, it also suggested ‘0xd275’ could belong to FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
CryptoSlate contacted Bitfinex and Tether concerning ‘0xd275’ but has not yet received a response. The account has only $827 in Tether-issued tokens as of press time.
FTX Hack
In its analysis of the FTX hack, which occurred after it filed for bankruptcy in November, Lookonchain revealed that the address ‘0xd275e’ was involved in large-scale transfers of ETH and USDC around the same time FTX exchange suspended user withdrawals.
Lookonchain also noted the curious timing of trading activities between ‘0xd275e’ and the FTX Accounts Drainer, hinting at a possible connection, though they emphasized that this remains speculative.
The nature of the relationship between ‘0xd275e’ and the FTX Accounts Drainer, as well as the identity of the latter, remains unknown.
While ‘0xd275e’ has generated significant attention within the crypto community, there is no concrete evidence to support the claims of the misappropriation of customer funds or connections to Tether or the FTX Accounts Drainer at this time.
While the account’s user remains a mystery, the wallet itself appears to be at the center of some of the most high-profile crypto events of the past nine months.
Mentioned in this article
Ethereum 
Wrapped Bitcoin 
USD Coin 
WETH 
FTX 
FTX US Derivatives 
Coinbase 
Bitfinex 
Tether Limited 
Binance 
Kraken 
Paolo Ardoino Author 
Liam 'Akiba' Wright
Also known as "Akiba," Liam Wright is a reporter, podcast producer, and Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change.
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In this article
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Wrapped Bitcoin
$66,036.62
Wrapped Bitcoin delivers the power of Bitcoin with the flexibility of an ERC20 token.
USD Coin
$0.99981
USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin fully backed by the US dollar and developed by the CENTRE consortium.
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.
FTX US Derivatives
FTX US Derivatives is a digital currency futures and options exchange and clearinghouse regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Coinbase
Coinbase is a digital currency exchange and wallet service that allows individuals to buy, sell, and store digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Bitfinex
Bitfinex is a digital asset trading platform offering state-of-the-art services for digital currency traders and global liquidity providers.
Tether Limited
Tether Limited is the company that introduced Tether (USD₮ or USDT), an asset-backed cryptocurrency stablecoin, in 2014.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Kraken
Kraken is a San Francisco-based digital asset exchange in euro volume and liquidity that trades various currencies, including Canadian dollars, US dollars, British pounds, and Japanese yen.
Paolo Ardoino joined Bitfinex at the beginning of 2015 and now serves as Chief Technology Officer.