Blockchain security firm PeckShield identified three wallets that converted 63,860 staked Ethereum (stETH), approximately $90 million, to Ethereum (ETH) when the stETH/ETH peg fell to a monthly low between May 2022 and June 2022.
The firm said that all three wallets withdrew the stETH from FTX, converted it to ETH, and then transferred the funds back to the exchange. He added that these transactions could be connected to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).
The transactions of the wallets
When stETH/ETH dropped to $0.971 on May 13, 2022, “0x6b92” withdrew 15,000 stETH (worth $23.4 million) from FTX, exchanged it for 14,300 ETH, and transferred it to FTX.
Two other wallets would make similar transactions when the stETH/ETH parity widened to $0.955 on June 11, 2022.
peckshield saying Wallets “0x1b23” and “0x2e85” cumulatively withdrew 49,000 stETH worth $66 million from FTX, exchanged them for 42,000 ETH, and returned the funds to FTX.
Alameda Research Connection
A Coinbase director, Conor Grogan, tweeted that two wallets withdrew over $75 million stETH from FTX on June 8, 2022 and sold everything on the market.
This move set off a series of events that eventually affected bankrupt crypto lender Celsius and crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, according to Grogan. He noted that the decoupling of stETH “led to significant market stress,” adding that the crypto lender halted withdrawals just four days after the event.
“Alameda could have prosecuted this OTC trade on behalf of Celsius or another big party.”
The previously unknown wallets went public after they sent ETH and stETH to the bankrupt exchange’s estate in January, according to Grogan.
However, the motive behind the exchanges remains unknown. Alameda suffered a seven-figure slip on the deal, raising questions as to why the savvy crypto trading company would make such a move, according to Grogan.
