Solana faces imminent decline after FTX/Alameda redeems 178,631 SOL

According to data from Solscan, FTX/Alameda’s Solana staking wallet has redeemed 178,631 SOL worth $28 million. The funds are expected to flow through various wallets and finally into major exchanges for possible liquidation.

A wallet address H4y…gFZ linked to the defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research trading firm has redeemed 178,631 SOL tokens worth around $28 million to 20 addresses. According to on-chain observer EmberCN, the wallet has previously undertaken similar transactions. 

FTX/Alameda executed similar Solana transactions before

FTX/Alameda 关联钱包 H4y…gFZ 在 7 小时前将昨天赎回的 177,693 枚 SOL($23.75M) 转移分发到了 20 个地址。

根据这些地址此前的转移记录，其中大部分地址接收到的 SOL 会在后续流入 Coinbase 或 Binance。https://t.co/fJhacUxnHe

本文由 #Bitget｜@Bitget_zh 赞助 https://t.co/WVzT8dHljV pic.twitter.com/nqeDF2aYat

— 余烬 (@EmberCN) September 13, 2024

EmberCN highlighted that the wallet has been actively transferring about 170,000 Solana tokens between the 12th and 15th of every month. On September 12th, the wallet address redeemed 177,693 SOL valued at $23.75 million. According to Solscan, the wallet still holds 7.09 million SOL worth over a billion dollars. The consistent transactions raise concerns over future Solana token prices. 

FTX and Alameda Research had close ties with Solana before the two companies went under. The companies had large amounts of Solana at the time of the collapse, causing the asset’s price to decline significantly. Since then, wallets associated with the exchange have been liquidating their Solana token holdings. 

In November 2023, on-chain data provider Lookonchain flagged transfers from FTX/Alameda worth $127.5 million at the time, out of which $41 million was in Solana. In December of the same year, the collapsed exchange cashed out on 1.5 million SOL worth $90 million through Coinbase.

The exchange is expected to conduct more liquidations through OTC transactions to avoid a sharp decline in the Solana token price. 

It is still unclear why the transactions are happening and if the assets are sold immediately after flowing into the exchange. However, many speculate that the recent liquidations could be part of FTX’s restructuring process. 

Solana is currently trading at $154.25 and is approaching a resistance zone of $161.52. If funds flow into either Binance or Coinbase, SOL could dip towards the $121.63 support.

Court gives FTX the green light to reimburse creditors

A U.S. bankruptcy judge recently approved FTX to execute its repayment plan to 98% of its customers using $16.5 billion in assets recovered after the exchange filed for bankruptcy. The exchange’s distribution plan will reimburse creditors who held a balance of $50,000 or less in digital assets on the exchange during the collapse. 

The effective date of execution remains unknown, but the approval explained that investors will be reimbursed in 60 days once the date is officially announced. The recent SOL redemptions coincidentally align with the judge’s ruling and could be correlated.

FTX founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison were both arrested and charged. Caroline Ellison, who was the CEO of Alameda and former girlfriend of Sam, was sentenced to two years in prison on September 24th after pleading guilty to seven charges. She collaborated with investigators and testified against Bankman-Fried during his trial, accruing the 24-month sentence. 

On the other hand, Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years on March 28th after the jury found him guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracies after the FTX debacle.