Bankrupt FTX and Alameda move over $8 million in assets amid market surge

Crypto wallets associated with the now-defunct FTX exchange and its counterpart, Alameda Research, have moved over $8 million in digital assets in the past 24 hours amidst a surge in the broader crypto market.

According to blockchain analytics firm SpotOnChain, these entities transferred 2,000 units of Ethereum, valued at around $6.36 million, to Coinbase and 163,727 PROM tokens, worth approximately $2.04 million, to Binance earlier today, Feb. 27.

The past day, Bitcoin rallied to more than $57,000 for the first time since November 2021. However, its price has slightly retraced to $56,958 as of press time. BTC’s increase also propelled other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and others to sizable gains during the reporting period.

Some analysts speculate that these transactions might signify the struggling company’s endeavor to profit from the rising prices of these tokens. Notably, SpotOnChain reported that FTX and Alameda moved 10,447 ETH, valued at $27.6 million, to centralized exchanges in the last month, coinciding with a 42% increase in ETH’s value.

The firms still possess around $901 million in digital assets despite these transfers. FTX holds $530 million across 18 addresses, while Alameda holds $371.39 million in assets, according to SpotOnChain data.

FTX asset sales

This development occurs as FTX actively divests various assets, including crypto holdings and shares in multiple companies, as part of its restructuring efforts.

Last week, the exchange gained court approval to sell its 8% stake in Anthropic, an AI startup. FTX initially invested around $530 million in Anthropic back in 2022. With Anthropic’s valuation now at $15 billion, FTX’s investment has more than doubled, surpassing $1 billion.

Besides that, FTX has sold a significant portion of its shares in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) following the trust’s transition into an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

These asset sales aim to help FTX settle its debts after shelving plans for a potential relaunch in January.