The assets of the defunct FTX exchange have staked 5.5 million Solana (SOL) tokens, worth $121 million. A court filing revealed that the largest portion of digital assets in FTX’s assets is SOL, with around $1.16 billion. Despite a previous drop, SOL recently reached a record Total Value Locked (TVL) of $338.2 million.
The estate of now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX has reportedly staked 5.5 million Solana (SOL) tokens, worth approximately $121 million. This follows a court filing highlighting significant SOL holdings owned by the FTX estate.
According to on-chain data, a wallet identified as FTX sent the coins to Figment, a staking validation company for institutional investors. Staking involves locking a specific number of coins for a certain period of time. Stakeholders receive rewards in SOL coins for securing the network with their staking.
FTX was an early investor in Solana and receives a significant volume of unlocked SOL each month according to the established vesting schedule. FTX’s bankruptcy administration has the option to liquidate these holdings at any time. FTX’s bankruptcy administration is overseen by a bankruptcy trustee. Its main function is to recover assets for the exchange’s creditors.
FTX Bet on Solana After Approval of the Liquidation Process
An X (formerly Twitter) user initially discovered the transaction, which is visible on Solana.fm under the wallet name ‘Alameda’. The amount staked comprises 5.55 million SOL tokens, worth approximately $121.17 million.
Currently, the price of SOL is $22.03. However, a recent court filing revealed that the estate of the now-defunct FTX exchange owns a staggering amount of SOL, as well as its majority of digital assets. According to the court file, he owns 1.16 billion dollars.
SOL holders found themselves in uncertainty when the bankruptcy court approved FTX’s liquidation plan, including $1.16 billion in SOL and approximately $2.5 billion in other crypto assets. Meanwhile, the settlement process complies with strict regulations. This is to avoid any adverse repercussions on the cryptocurrency market due to a sudden sell-off.
Instead, it was rolled out in increments of $50 million per week, gradually increasing until it reached $100 million.
Meanwhile, SOL has reached record amounts in its total value locked (TVL). On October 2, it reached its highest levels in 2023, with a TVL of $338.2 million. This marked significant excitement among avid members of the SOL crypto community, especially considering the apprehension stemming from a sharp drop in SOL’s TVL just a year ago.
More on SOL
In September, a U.S. court approved FTX’s sale of $1.3 billion in SOL, prompting concern among holders about a price crash. To avoid adding burdens to the cryptocurrency market, the bankruptcy court required that the sale occur through an investment advisor and in weekly batches. The decision took SOL price to a two-month low of $17.34 on September 11.
FTX owns $3.4 billion in Digital Assets A, which are the top 10 assets the company owns, including Solana, Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Aptos (APT), and other cryptocurrencies. According to court documents from September, more than $7 billion has been recovered since the exchange filed for bankruptcy protection last November.
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX, is on trial in Manhattan District Court on charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. If convicted, he could serve up to 115 years in prison.
By Leonardo Pérez
