Say What??
•Wallets linked to Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research are swapping and transferring crypto funds, using coin mixers to obscure transactions.
• On Wednesday, the wallets were spotted swapping obscure tokens for Bitcoin and Ethereum—the two largest cryptocurrencies by respective market cap—along with stablecoin Tether.
• Some of the funds are being put through coin mixers—apps that anonymize crypto transactions and hide their origins.
• FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly cashing out large amounts of cryptocurrency soon after being released on bail, on-chain data suggests.
Wallets linked to Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research have been making headlines with their use of coin mixers to facilitate anonymous transactions. These mixers are designed to confuse digital tracking elsewhere as finances are swapped and transferred between wallet holders connected to the firm.
According to reports, individuals and companies appear to be taking advantage of the wallets’ privacy capabilities in order to stay one step ahead of scrutiny from regulators and governments. Although it remains unclear exactly how much liquidity is out there benefitting from these anonymous services, it is clear that these mixing solutions are helping users obscure their crypto funds.
What Are Coin Mixers?
Coin mixers are services that allow users to anonymize their cryptocurrency by mixing coins with other users’ coins. This allows users to keep their transactions private, making it difficult for anyone to trace where the funds originated from or who owns them. This has become increasingly popular in recent years due to growing concerns about privacy in cryptocurrency transactions.
The Role of Regulations in Controlling and Monitoring SBF’s Cash Outs
With increasing scrutiny from regulators about activities related to coin mixers, there is concern about how this might affect SBF’s ability to cash out large amounts of cryptocurrency without being detected by authorities. It appears that SBF has been able to successfully cash out large amounts of cryptocurrency without much oversight or regulation, but it remains unclear as to whether or not this will remain possible in the future given growing regulatory pressure on coin mixer services.
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Cashing Out Cryptocurrency After Being Released on Bail
SBF’s wallet has allegedly sent $684,000 worth of crypto to an exchange in Seychelles on Dec. 28th, which DeFi analyst BowTiedIguana noted was transferred to a newly created address. Further analysis discovered that 32 addresses belonging to Alameda Research wallets contributed $367,000 to the funds, while another $322,000 came from other unidentified wallets.
All funds were sent to both a centralized crypto exchange and the bridge RenBridge in Seychelles, which is likely where SBF cashed out his funds. This sudden transaction has led BowTiedIguana and other analysts to believe that this large sum of money was potentially used in breach of the conditions of SBF’s release pending his legal trial.
Evidence from On-Chain Data Suggests Cash Outs by SBF On-chain data suggests that SBFs wallets are linked with a number of token swaps and transfers involving Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether (USDT). It appears that these activities began shortly after he was released on bail following his arrest for insider trading earlier this year. This has led some speculators to suggest that SBF could be cashing out large amounts of cryptocurrency without being detected by authorities due to its use of coin mixers.
Token swaps and transfers involving Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether (USDT) seem to be in play. The current thought is Sam be using coin mixers in order to anonymize his transactions which could help him cash out large amounts of cryptocurrency without being detected by authorities. There are potential regulatory issues surrounding coin mixers which could impact SBF’s ability to remain anonymous when cashing out his crypto funds in the future. However, only further investigation will reveal more information about these activities and their implications for the crypto market and the regulations governing it.
BowTiedIguana recently called upon the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether SBF had violated his bail conditions. Whether or not confirmed to be related to SBF before FTX’s collapse, industry observers questioned whether these transactions qualify as ‘spending’ money since they were likely his assets already.
Sushi Chef Sam?
Speculations regarding SBF being the anonymous co-founder of Sushiswap, Chef Nomi, were also brought up. Coinbase Head of Strategy Conor Grogan provided insight into the matter by elaborating that many of the recent SBF-linked wallets were heavily involved with LPing Sushi early on, way before Chef Nomi handed off the project to SBF. Nevertheless, SBF himself claimed in September 2020 to have had no part in creating Sushiswap but with the help of this immutable blockchain ledger and its permanent records provided by law enforcement, maybe we can get one step closer to solving this mystery once and for all.
If it were proven that Sam had something to do with Sushiswap as well that would be another red flag being raised in the crypto world. The reputation of Mr. Bankman-Fried is completely sullied at this moment and it seems anything and everything that has to do with him is considered tainted goods at the moment. If he is indeed found as a major player in Sushiswap the revelations could be devastating if not catastrophic for those users of the platform.
