FTX's enthusiasm for Solana's native token SOL remains unwavering, as the estate staked an impressive 5.5 million SOL coins on October 13. As per on-chain data, a wallet associated with FTX transferred these coins to Figment, a staking validation firm catering to institutional investors.
The transaction was initially detected by the blockchain tracking tool Whale Alert and later identified as an FTX estate address by the pseudonymous on-chain researcher known as Ashpool. The staked coins are valued at a staggering $122 million, yet they represent only a fraction of FTX's overall SOL holdings.
Staking, in this context, involves locking a specific quantity of coins for a predetermined period. Those who stake their holdings receive SOL coin rewards for contributing to the network's security.
FTX was an early investor in Solana and continues to receive a substantial volume of unlocked SOL each month, in accordance with their established vesting schedule. Notably, FTX's estate has the flexibility to liquidate these holdings at any time, under the careful supervision of a bankruptcy trustee. The trustee's primary responsibility is to recover assets for the exchange's creditors. In a recent development, a U.S. court approved the sale of $1.3 billion worth of SOL from FTX, triggering concerns among holders about a potential price downturn. To prevent undue pressure on the cryptocurrency market, the bankruptcy court mandated that the sale be conducted through an investment adviser in weekly installments. This decision resulted in SOL's price hitting a two-month low of $17.34 on September 11.
FTX currently holds $3.4 billion in Digital Assets A, encompassing the top 10 assets in the company's portfolio, which includes Solana, Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Aptos (APT), and various other cryptocurrencies. As per court documents from September, over $7 billion has been recovered since the exchange sought bankruptcy protection in November of the previous year.
Meanwhile, Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX, is currently standing trial at a Manhattan district court, facing allegations of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. If found guilty, he could potentially face a prison sentence of up to 115 years.
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