FTX wallet unstakes $28m in Solana, sparking fresh selloff fears

FTX could be preparing to offload more of its Solana (SOL) holdings, sparking fresh concerns of a potential selloff. According to data from Solscan, FTX recently redeemed 178,631 SOL tokens from its staking address, and these tokens are expected to be distributed across multiple wallets, with most likely flowing into major exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase.

This move follows a recurring pattern for FTX, as regular SOL transfers typically occur between the 12th and 15th of each month. Currently, the wallet still holds 7.09 million SOL, worth over $1.1 billion, raising fears that FTX could trigger another significant selloff of Solana tokens in the near future.

The unstaking of Solana is part of FTX’s ongoing liquidation efforts following the exchange’s collapse in 2022. Since then, FTX has been gradually liquidating its cryptocurrency holdings to repay creditors, with a Delaware judge approving cash repayments earlier this month.

FTX, along with its trading arm Alameda Research, has already sold off significant portions of its Solana holdings. According to a pinetbox.com report, over 13 million SOL tokens were transferred to exchanges in the months leading up to December 2023. Notably, in November 2023, FTX unstaked and moved SOL tokens valued at $160 million.

Reports from April 2024 confirmed that FTX sold over $1.9 billion in Solana at a massive discount in an attempt to secure funds. Sources also suggested that FTX planned to sell more Solana through a blind auction, which was completed in May 2024, with a total value of $2.6 billion.

FTX’s sale of SOL is part of its broader effort to liquidate its crypto assets as part of the bankruptcy process. In September 2023, a court approved FTX’s plan to liquidate $100 million in crypto assets weekly, with the potential to increase the liquidation to $200 million per week if necessary.

Along with Solana, FTX still holds other major assets such as Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC), which are also expected to be sold off as the company works to recover billions of dollars owed to creditors.