FTX Stakes 5.5 Million SOL Tokens

FTX Estate has made significant moves in staking millions of dollars worth of ETH and SOL tokens two days ago.

FTX Stakes 5.5 Million SOL Tokens. Image: Decrypt

FTX Estate has initiated staking for over 5.5 million Solana (SOL) tokens, valued at approximately $122 million, and more than 24,000 Ethereum (ETH), equivalent to around $30 million, on October 14.

Based on on-chain data from SolanaFM, a wallet associated with FTX Estate has delegated these funds to Figment, a firm specializing in staking services for large organizations. However, the SOL staked represents only a small portion of FTX's total holdings. FTX Estate plays a role in recovering assets for the exchange's creditors.

Transaction transferring 5.5 million SOL to Figment. Source: SolanaFM

FTX has been an early investor in Solana since August 2020 and continues to receive vesting SOL until 2027-2028. Consequently, they have the full authority to liquidate these tokens, causing concerns among holders. However, a court decision has temporarily alleviated these concerns.

The amount of SOL staked saw a significant increase on October 14. Source: Gelato.sh

As of the end of August 2023, FTX has recovered approximately $7 billion in assets, including $1.1 billion in SOL, $560 million in Bitcoin (BTC), $200 million in Bahamian real estate, and $1.9 billion in other illiquid assets. To repay debts while avoiding severe market impact, the US court has approved a phased liquidation process at $100-200 million per week.

Nevertheless, this information continues to exert downward pressure on the crypto market and significantly impacts investor sentiment. SOL prices have decreased by 5% over the week and are trading around $22.09.

1-hour chart of SOL/USDT pair on Binance at 10:50 AM on October 16, 2023

Additionally, the trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried remains a focal point of discussion concerning the collapsed exchange.

Coverage of the Sam Bankman-Fried trial:

• Day 1 & 2: Opening statements by the prosecutor and defense attorneys.
• Day 3: Witnesses Adam Yetitia (former FTX and Alameda employee), Matt Huang (Paradigm fund manager).
• Day 4: Witness Gary Wang (former FTX CTO).
• Day 5: Witness Caroline Ellison (former CEO of Alameda Research).
• Day 6 & 7: Continued testimony from Caroline Ellison and former Alameda Research developer Christian Drappi.
• Day 8: BlockFi CEO blames FTX - Alameda for causing his company's bankruptcy.