On June 7, the team behind the Zksync project Gemholic withdrew 921 previously locked ethereum tokens in a suspected rug-pulling incident. The Gemholic team executed the theft despite reportedly completing the blockchain security firm Solidproof’s Know Your Customer (KYC) process. Zksync’s v24 Upgrade The layer two (L2) Ethereum blockchain scaling protocol, Gemholic, faced allegations of […]
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Value Locked in Defi Nears $100B Range Again After $11.89B Increase in 35 Days
Over the past 35 days, the total value locked in decentralized finance (defi) protocols has expanded by .89 billion, recovering from a low of just over billion on April 13. Although it has not yet reached the 0 billion mark, the value locked in defi is approaching that milestone after hovering just below it. […]
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Real-World Assets Hits New Peak With $8 Billion Locked, Reports Messari
The total value locked (TVL) in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization protocols has seen a remarkable surge of almost 60% since February, reaching a new high of almost billion as of April 26, according to a report by blockchain analytics and research firm Messari. This growth is attributed to a market preference for debt-based, high-yield […]
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Vitalik Buterin Among Several High-Profile Names With Over $1 Million Locked in Bridges
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, reportedly has over million trapped in the Optimism bridge, a situation highlighted in a broader analysis by Arkham, which exposes numerous wallets with significant funds locked on various bridge contracts. Among these, a wallet associated with Bofur Capital has .8 million in wrapped Bitcoin stuck on an Arbitrum bridge […]
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FTX Estate Plans Auction for Locked Solana Tokens
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is preparing to offload more of its locked Solana (SOL) tokens through an auction, diverging from its previous method of selling at a set price, as announced by Mike Cagney of Figure Markets. This decision follows FTX’s recent sales of SOL tokens, amounting to approximately .9 billion and .6 billion in […]
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Study: Three-Quarters of Defi’s Total Value Locked Earn 5% APY in Low-Risk Contracts
In the first quarter of 2024, approximately .8 billion, or 76% of the decentralized finance yield market, earned an annual percentage yield (APY) of about 5% in very low-risk contracts. Staking played a crucial role in the resurgence of decentralized finance, bolstered by the Ethereum network’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake model. The bridging sector experienced […]
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FTX Estate Offloads $1.9 Billion Worth Of Locked Solana (SOL) Tokens In Sale
In a significant development, FTX bankruptcy trustees have reportedly sold about two-thirds of a .6 billion stash of Solana (SOL) at a “deeply discounted price.”
Industry figures such as Galaxy Trading and Pantera Capital were among the investors involved in the deal, according to people familiar with the matter, as reported by Bloomberg.
SOL Tokens’ Four-Year Journey
Per the report, the FTX estate was able to sell between 25 million and 30 million locked-up Solana coins at each, generating up to .9 billion in proceeds for the estate.
Under Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, Galaxy Trading managed to raise approximately 0 million for a fund established to purchase SOL from the FTX estate. According to the report, investors in the vehicle will be subject to a 1% management fee, and the investment will offer a yield through staking.
It is worth noting that the 41 million Solana tokens sold by the FTX estate are locked according to a pre-agreed vesting period, preventing them from being available for trading on the market.
According to Bloomberg, these tokens will gradually become available for sale over the course of four years, which could significantly impact SOL’s price action. However, as the tokens remain locked, SOL’s 739% year-to-date (YTD) uptrend remains intact, and the possibility for further gains remains in the cards.
Solana Sale Garners Interest From Prominent Figures
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison, was a major supporter of SOL.
As previously reported, Bankman-Fried has actively engaged with guards at the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is currently incarcerated. He offers investment advice and recommends SOL as a potential opportunity, demonstrating his bullish sentiment on the protocol.
The token, which operates on the Solana blockchain, constituted a significant portion of the digital assets stranded on the collapsed exchange, creating shockwaves throughout the crypto markets.
In addition to Galaxy Digital, Bloomberg notes that selling SOL tokens has attracted the attention of Pantera Capital. This .2 billion asset manager has reportedly raised capital for a special fund to acquire up to 0 million of SOL from the FTX estate.
Vancouver-based Neptune Digital Assets Corp. also announced the purchase of 26,964 SOL tokens for .7 million on March 27. However, FTX creditors are concerned they will be under-compensated in the SOL sale process.
Creditors Dispute FTX Bankruptcy Ruling
In January, the judge overseeing the bankruptcy case ruled that the amount of each claim should be based on what the customer or creditor was owed on the day FTX filed for bankruptcy. At that time, SOL was trading at about , well below its current market price.
As the price of SOL rallied in recent months, this discrepancy became a point of contention for some creditors. One creditor, Sunil Kavuri, expressed during Bankman-Fried’s final sentencing hearing that the SOL coins are “our property.”
Another creditor, whose name was redacted in court documents, stated in a written statement that the FTX estate is “giving away money for free to hedge funds.” In a recent interview, Bankman-Fried claimed the following regarding clients’ growing concerns about underpayment:
I’ve heard and seen the despair, frustration, and sense of betrayal from thousands of customers; they deserve to be paid in full, at current price. That could and should have happened in November 2022, and it could and should happen today. It’s excruciating to see them waiting, day after day.
Currently, the price of SOL stands at 5, reflecting a decrease of up to 6.7% within the last 24 hours and over 7% over the past week.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Ether Locked in Liquid Staking Platforms Skyrockets to $54.34B With a $26.85B Rise in 64 Days
The volume and worth of liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) have expanded significantly since the beginning of the year, with 1.56 million ether being added to LSD protocols since Jan. 6. The total value of ethereum stored surged by .85 billion in the last two months. LSD Market Flourishes: Ethereum Holdings Cross Billion Milestone In […]
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Value Locked in Defi Nears $100 Billion Milestone Amidst Broad Market Uptick and Lido Dominance
Five days ago, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) protocols exceeded the billion mark, and since that point, it has expanded by an additional .66 billion. As it hovers above the billion threshold, the TVL is approaching the 0 billion milestone, a figure not observed since before the collapse of […]
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Defi’s Total Value Locked Hits $80 Billion in a Dramatic Turnaround Since 2022
Recent data reveals that the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance has jumped past the billion milestone, reaching heights not observed since the downfall of Terra’s stablecoin in May 2022. Leading the charge in 2024 by TVL size is Lido’s liquid staking platform, with ether-based liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) securing a dominant position […]
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