Three crypto wallets were identified that were selling heavily when the stETH/ETH stable fell to their monthly lows in May-June of last year. It is alleged that FTX and its founder SBF are behind the transactions that sell loaded stETH.
Wallets related to former FTX CEO move $90M
Blockchain security firm PeckShield has identified three wallets that have converted 63,860 Ethereum stakes (stETH) – roughly $90 million – into Ethereum (ETH), where stETH/ETH fell to a monthly low between May 2022 and June 2022. PeckShield says that three wallets pull stETH from FTX, convert it to ETH, and then transfer the funds back to the exchange. These transactions may be linked to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).
On 5/13/2022, stETH/ETH tanked to $0.971. 0x6b92 withdrew 15k $stETH ($23.4M) from FTX, swapped it for 14.3k $ETH & transferred to FTX
On 6/11/2022, stETH/ETH tanked to $0.955, 0x1b23 & 0x2e85 withdrew 49k $stETH ($66M) from FTX, swapped it for 42k $ETH & then transferred to FTX pic.twitter.com/nlc94RxU2N— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) January 30, 2023
While stETH/ETH fluctuated, millions of dollars worth of stETH were withdrawn from FTX wallets
On May 13, 2022, when stETH/ETH dropped to $0.971, a wallet starting “0x6b92” withdrew 15,000 stETH worth $23.4 million from FTX, then traded them for 14,300 ETH and transferred them back to FTX. On June 11, 2022, when the stETH/ETH constant hit $0.955, the other two wallets did similar transactions.
Peckshield says that wallets starting “0x1b23” and “0x2e85” pulled 49,000 stETH from FTX with a total value of $66 million, exchanged them for 42,000 ETH and returned the funds to FTX.
Alameda Research linked transactions
Coinbase executive Conor Grogan tweeted that the two wallets had withdrawn over $75 million in stETH from FTX on June 8, 2022, all of which were plentiful. These transactions are clearly SBD/Alameda linked, Grogan says.
On 6/8/22, 2 mystery wallets withdrew $75M+ of stETH from FTX
They then proceeded to market-sell everything, kicking off a "de-peg" event seen as one of the contributing factors to Celsius's bankrun and the demise of 3AC
We know today that SBF/Alameda was behind these sales pic.twitter.com/nRv9ev4VoM
— Conor (@jconorgrogan) January 29, 2023
According to Grogan, these transactions triggered a series of events that eventually affected the bankrupt crypto lending firm Celsius (CEL) and crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. He pointed out that StETH lost its price stability and “caused significant stress in the market”. The Coinbase executive states that the crypto lender suspended withdrawals just four days after the incident:
On 06/08/2020, 2 mystery wallets have withdrawn more than $75M in stETH from FTX. They then started selling everything, initiating a “pegging” event that was seen as one of the factors that contributed to Celsius’ bankruptcy and 3AC’s collapse. Today we know that SBF/Alameda is behind these sales.
Coinbase administrator is sure something is going on in the background
According to Grogan, the previously unknown wallets were made public in January after he sent ETH and stETH to the property of the bankrupt exchange. However, the reason behind the swaps is still unknown. According to Grogan, Alameda experienced a seven-figure shift in trading, which raises questions about why the savvy crypto firm would make such a move. As quoted by cryptokoin.com, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November last year, starting a wave of bankruptcies that engulfed crypto companies.
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