Alameda withdrew $204 million in crypto from FTX US days before stock market crash

Alameda Research reportedly withdrew the most funds from FTX US, the U.S. arm of FTX, days before the crypto-currency exchange filed for bankruptcy. The majority of the withdrawn crypto-currencies were sent to wallets owned by FTX International, “suggesting that Alameda may have operated as a bridge between the two entities,” said crypto intelligence firm Arkham.

Analysis of Alameda’s withdrawals from the U.S. FTX exchange.

The Arkham crypto-intelligence company shared an analysis Friday showing that Alameda Research pulled the most funds from FTX US, the U.S. arm of FTX, days before the crypto-currency exchange collapsed. Arkham tweeted:

After November 6th, Alameda only withdrew USD-stable tokens, Wrapped BTC or Ether from FTX US.

Of the $204M withdrawn:

$38.06M was in BTC (18.7%)
$49.39M was in ETH (24.2%)
$116.52M was in USD-denominated stables (57.1%) pic.twitter.com/lKRttdkPsZ

– Arkham | Crypto Intelligence (@ArkhamIntel) November 25, 2022

Arkham analyzed FTX US flows in the final days before the collapse, finding that Alameda withdrew the most funds, at $204M.

Arkham added that it identified eight different addresses where Alameda Research transferred the crypto assets it withdrew. The crypto intelligence firm noted that of the $204 million :

142.4 million (69.8 percent of the total) was sent to wallets owned by FTX International, suggesting that Alameda may have operated to bridge the gap between the two entities.

After November 6, Alameda only withdrew stable USD coins from FTX US. Furthermore, of the $204 million withdrawn, $38.06 million was in BTC (18.7%), $49.39 million was in ETH (24.2%), and $116.52 million was in USD-denominated stablecoins (57.1%).

“The withdrawn wBTC were sent to the Alameda WBTC Merchant portfolio, and were then transferred in their entirety to the FTX US portfolio. “Arkham detailed, adding that of the withdrawn ethereum, $35.52 million was sent to FTX and $13.87 million was sent to a large active trading wallet. The crypto intelligence firm noted:

The stable USD tokens were split between USDT, USDC, BUSD, and TUSD.

Arkham further shared that $10.04 million in USDT was sent to Binance and $32.17 million in USDT was exchanged for USDC and sent to FTX. In addition, $47.379 million in USDT, $10.151 million in USDC, $16.285 million in BUSD and $500,000 in TUSD were sent to FTX.

FTX and approximately 130 affiliates, including FTX US and Alameda Research, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11. John J. Ray, III, who replaced Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) as FTX Group CEO, told the bankruptcy court, “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as has occurred here.“