According to a report stemming from the blockchain analytics firm Argus, Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm Alameda Research obtained tokens ahead of FTX.com listings. The report claims that Alameda acquired roughly $60 million worth of tokens before the digital assets were scheduled to be listed on FTX.
Blockchain Analytics Firm Says Alameda Had an Insider’s Edge a Month Prior to FTX Listings
Wall Street Journal (WSJ) contributor Caitlin Ostroff detailed on Nov. 14, 2022, that analysis from the blockchain analytics firm Argus indicates the now-bankrupt Alameda Research had amassed a large stash of tokens prior to specific FTX listings. Ostroff’s report notes that between March 2021 through March 2022, Alameda acquired $60 million of these types of crypto tokens stemming from 18 different FTX listings that followed.
“What we see is they’ve basically almost always in the month leading up to it bought into a position that they previously didn’t. It’s quite clear there’s something in the market telling them they should be buying things they previously hadn’t,” Omar Amjad, co-founder of Argus, told the WSJ.
The report further notes that the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) emailed the WSJ back in February and said that Alameda had access to the same type of information most crypto market makers held. Ostroff further explained that SBF told the news publication that “[Alameda] traders didn’t have special access to client information, market data, or trading.”
The news follows FTX filing for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022, and the filing revealing that FTX International, FTX US, Alameda Research, and 131 other entities were included in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Sources told Reuters that SBF discreetly transferred roughly $10 billion in funds to Alameda. Two people familiar with the matter further explained that at least $1 billion and possibly up to $2 billion in customer funds has gone missing.
While text messaging Reuters directly, SBF told reporters that he “disagreed with the characterization” of the alleged $10 billion move of funds to Alameda. “We didn’t secretly transfer,” SBF insisted in his text message. “We had confusing internal labeling and misread it,” the former FTX CEO added. Less than 24 hours after the FTX bankruptcy filing on Nov. 11, the exchange wallets were hacked and $477 million in crypto assets was reportedly stolen.
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