Wallets belonging to the defunct crypto exchange FTX and bankrupt trading firm Alameda Research unstaked over 3 million Solana tokens, its largest SOL unlock since it started selling off company tokens in November 2023.
On March 4, blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain flagged FTX and Alameda’s wallets unstaking 3.03 million Solana (SOL). At the time of the unlock, the tokens were worth around $431 million.
Since unlocking staked SOL, the bankrupt crypto firms have deposited about 25,000 SOL worth roughly $3.3 million at Binance.
The most recent unlock is FTX and Alameda’s largest unstaking since November 2023 when the companies unstaked 2.1 million SOL, worth $141 million. Since then, the bankrupt crypto firms have consistently unstaked millions in SOL and sent the assets to exchanges.
FTX and Alameda wallets send $3.3 million to Binance. Source: Solscan
FTX offloaded almost $1 billion in Solana tokens
Although FTX and Alameda unlocked more than $400 million in SOL, the firms may not be able to sell all the tokens in a single transaction. In September 2023, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court approved FTX’s plan to sell digital assets, imposing strict limits on liquidation amounts.
Under the court ruling, the bankrupt exchange can sell digital assets weekly through an investment adviser, with an initial limit of $50 million in the first week and $100 million in subsequent weeks. If FTX seeks to sell more, it must request court approval to raise the limit to $200 million per week.
Data shared by blockchain analysis platform Spot On Chain shows that since November 2023, FTX has unstaked 7.83 million SOL. Spot On Chain said FTX and Alameda have offloaded the tokens, worth around $986 million, to Coinbase and Binance at an average price of $125.80 per SOL.
FTX and Alameda Research’s SOL unstaking history since November 2023. Source: Spot On Chain
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FTX starts $1.2 billion customer repayments
The unstaking of SOL tokens comes as FTX repays some of its former users who lost funds in the exchange’s collapse.
On Feb. 18, FTX started distributing about $1.2 billion in digital assets to customers impacted by its bankruptcy. While seen as a positive step toward the industry’s recovery, the repayments have faced challenges, particularly for customers based in jurisdictions that do not qualify for distributions.
On Feb. 21, FTX creditor and advocate Sunil Kavuri shared a list of 163 jurisdictions ineligible for FTX repayments. Kavuri said there were many claims from countries that were ineligible for distributions. However, the FTX creditor said the exchange was reviewing options.
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