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FTX's bankruptcy estate staked roughly $122 million in Solana (SOL) tokens held in the firm's crypto wallets.
The transaction was tracked through on-chain data when an FTX-identified wallet transferred the tokens to Figment, a staking validator firm catering to institutional investors.
Around the same time early on Saturday, the FTX estate also staked a total of 3,200 Ethereum (ETH) worth roughly $5 million, on-chain data shows.
A Nansen spokesperson told Decrypt that both crypto wallets are Alameda Research wallets, FTX's sister trading firm.
Staking in the world of cryptocurrencies refers to the process of locking up a specific amount of tokens for a predetermined period. In return, holders who participate in staking receive rewards in the form of additional coins. This process plays a vital role in securing proof-of-stake (PoS) networks, such as Ethereum and Solana.
In August, the FTX’s current leadership helmed by John J. Ray III, filed a motion seeking authorization and approval of guidelines for the sale of cryptocurrencies recovered during the bankruptcy proceedings.
"Hedging of Bitcoin and Ether—two digital assets for which there is a liquid hedging market—will provide a means to lessen the Debtors’ exposure to adverse price movements in Bitcoin and Ether prior to their sale," said the filing.
The FTX estate's request was approved last month, with Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital appointed as the investment manager overseeing the sale of the assets, valued at a whopping $3.4 billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and several other cryptocurrencies.
The original motion outlining FTX’s “Digital Asset Management and Monetization Program,” however, also included the possibility of staking certain cryptocurrencies to generate passive yield—the option the exchange’s bankruptcy estate has now executed.
FTX and Digital Galaxy didn’t immediately reply to Decrypt’s request for comment.
FTX, Alameda and Solana
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently on trial on fraud charges, was a notable advocate of Solana—through Alameda Research, he invested in the project’s developers Solana Labs, as well as other ecosystem projects.
Additionally, as the Solana Foundation revealed last year, FTX and Alameda Research purchased over 50.5 million SOL from the Foundation in the period between August 2020 and January 2021, with the larger portion of that amount locked until 2028 with a monthly unlock schedule.
SOL soared to an all-time high of $260 in November 2021, however, is currently trading 91% off that peak
“There were the Sam coins, including Solano [sic] which he didn't create but played a big role in promoting. It was more liquid than the other Sam coins,” Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of FTX’s sister trading firm Alameda Research and the star witness at the ongoing trial of SBF, said last week in court.
Notably, Solana was also FTX’s largest crypto holding at the time of the September court ruling, with as much as $1.16 billion in SOL sitting in the company’s wallets.