View source for FTX (FTT)

FTX was a Cryptocurrency [[Derivatives]] Exchange

Alameda Research was a trading desk

==Basics ==
*Founded in: 2019 (Alameda in [https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/ftx-2#toc-entities-doppleg-ngers-2 2017])
* [https://thedailygwei.substack.com/p/striking-a-balancer-the-daily-gwei Became known] (25-6-2020) for gaming the [[BAL]] [[token]] when it launched.
*Went under [https://thedefiant.io/ftx-crisis-shifts-into-new-phase-as-contagion-spreads-and-investors-scramble-for-cover within a week's time] in November 2022.
*[https://messari.io/asset/ftx-token/profile From] [[Messari]] (22-1-2020):
''"FTX is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange launched in April, 2019 that offers futures, leveraged tokens and over-the-counter (OTC) trading. It is backed by Alameda Research, a trading firm accounting for between $600 million and $1 billion of volume a day or roughly 5% of global volume.''

''FTX was designed to prevent clawbacks using a three-tiered liquidation model that closes positions with rate-limited orders and leverages an insurance fund to prevent customer losses. Rather than fracturing liquidity across various tokens, collateral is shared in one universal [[stablecoin]] [[wallet]] to mimic the traditional futures market. FTX also allows traders to take leveraged or short positions without trading on margin or futures with their Leveraged Tokens that mimic the experience of trading on spot markets but allow 3x, -1x or -3x on various tokens. The FTX OTC desk is powered by Alameda and trades around $30 million per day with no fees."''

== History ==

* Went [https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/11/sam-bankman-frieds-cryptocurrency-exchange-ftx-files-for-bankruptcy.html bankrupt] in November 2022. One of the [https://twitter.com/lucasnuzzi/status/1590122590206824448 theories] is that FTX provided a massive bailout for Alameda in Q2 which came back to haunt them.
*[https://www.nansen.ai/research/blockchain-analysis-the-collapse-of-alameda-and-ftx From] [https://www.nansen.ai/research/blockchain-analysis-the-collapse-of-alameda-and-ftx Nansen] (16-11-2022):
''“Piecing together the pieces from our on-chain investigation, it was evident that the [[Terra Classic (LUNC)|Luna]]/Terra collapse revealed a deep flaw between Alameda and FTX’s muddled relationship. There were significant FTT outflows from Alameda to FTX around the Terra-Luna/ [[Three Arrows Capital (3AC)|3AC]] situation.”''
*[https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/ftx-2#toc-entities-doppleg-ngers-2 From] The Generalist (8-8-2021):

''"Alameda is a crypto investment firm. It was founded by [[Sam Bankman-Fried]] (SBF), [[Gary Wang]], and [[Nishad Singh]] to capitalize on the [[arbitrage]] opportunity presented in the Asian markets in late 2017. It has grown in the intervening years, becoming one of the most influential allocators in the ecosystem, investing directly in protocols as well as private companies. Several sources confirmed that Alameda may be the single largest investor in the crypto ecosystem, trading billions in assets a day. Alameda was FTX's primary market [[maker]] in its early days, providing liquidity. The firm makes up a much smaller percentage of volume today."''

==Exploits==

* The [https://twitter.com/aditya_baradwaj/status/1712181990772912247 tweet thread] (10-2023) by a former engineer, Aditya Baradwaj, lists at least 3 security incidents totaling $190M in losses involving phishing, [[Rug pull|rugpulls]], and even plain text key theft by an alleged insider.
* On November 12, 2022 FTX insider stole [https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1591276696946499584 $380M] from wallets across [[Ethereum (ETH)|Ethereum]], [[Binance|BSC]], [[Polygon (MATIC)|Polygon]], [[TRON (TRX)|Tron]], and [[Solana (SOL)|Solana]] chains. The events surrounding the compromised resulted in [https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1591295039946493952 many unfounded rumors] such as a malicious mobile app update and a hacked website. FTX responded by [https://twitter.com/_Ryne_Miller/status/1591495429338071042?s=20&t=7JUZBdixCmIMv5zpwib4GA moving remaining assets] to new cold storage addresses. [[Tether (USDT)|USDT]] and [[Paxos|PAXG]] also [https://decrypt.co/114587/paxos-freezes-paxg-crypto-ftx responded] by [https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/10/tether-freezes-46m-of-usdt-following-law-enforcement-request/ freezing] attacker’s assets.
* On October 12, 2022 FTX [https://twitter.com/BeosinAlert/status/1580426718711463937 lost] about $100K in [[gas]] fees when an attacker tricked its withdrawal system to mint tokens.

== Token ==
=== Utility ===
* [https://messari.io/asset/ftx-token/profile From] [[Messari]] (22-1-2020): 
''"33% of all fees generated from the exchange, 10% of net additions to the insurance fund, and 5% of fees from other uses of the platform will be used for repurchase and subsequently [[burned]] until half of the total supply is destroyed."''

* [https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/ftx-2#toc-entities-doppleg-ngers-2 From] The Generalist (8-8-2021):

''"Much like [[Binance|Binance’s]] BNB, FTT grants discounts on fees, along with other benefits. If you choose to [[Proof-of-Stake (PoS)|stake]] FTT, perks include enhanced voting power, bonus [[NFTs]], [[airdropped]] rewards, and further rebates. FTT can be used towards an account’s collateral requirements, too, something we’ll unpack in a moment. To maintain scarcity and create pricing pressure, FTX “buys and burns” FTT.''"

=== Token Details ===
* [https://defirate.com/cream-ftt-delisting/ Is] a [[centralized]] token (14-10-2020).
* From their [https://ftx.com/ website] (20-4-2020):

==== ''"FTT — FTX Token'' ====
''FTT will get socialized gains from the insurance fund on FTX.''

''FTX will buy and [[burn]] FTT equal to 33% of all fees generated on FTX markets.''

''FTT holders will get a fee discount and tighter [[OTC]] spreads.''

''FTT will be usable as collateral on FTX."''
* From their [https://help.ftx.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029839371-About-FTX About Us] (20-4-2020):
"''FTT is the FTX ecosystem [[utility token]].  Holders of FTT receive numerous benefits, including:''
# ''Weekly buying and burning of fees''
# ''Lower FTX trading fees''
# ''Collateral for futures trading''
# ''Socialized gains from the insurance fund"''
=== Stablecoin ===

* Right before FTX's collapse, they announced to work on a stablecoin, in hindsight, probably to try and print more money out of thin air to close their accounting holes
== Their Other Projects ==

* The exchange [https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/ftx-2#toc-product-power-center-2 offers] (8-8-2021) the following products:

[[Tokenized]] stocks, Leveraged tokens, Volatility tokens, a [[prediction market]] and a [[fiat]] market.

=== Blockfolio (changed name into FTX as well) ===

* [https://twitter.com/blockfolio/status/1420428818033086471 Changed] name into FTX (like the FTX father company). No longer Blockfolio (28-7-2021).
*[https://ethhub.substack.com/p/ethhub-weekly-129?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzk3OTAwLCJwb3N0X2lkIjo5MTY1MzksIl8iOiIwb3pkOCIsImlhdCI6MTU5ODk1MTYyOSwiZXhwIjoxNTk4OTU1MjI5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzkxMCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.iLpxzrYt5lLc4i_EHheaXJOJ0y_HFs2BWxByA-3pokY From] [[EthHub]] #129 (1-9-2020):

"''FTX has acquired popular crypto price tracking app [[Blockfolio]] for $150 million in one of the largest acquisition deals in the [[Digital Asset|digital asset]] space this year."''
=== DEX ===

*[https://cryptobriefing.com/ftx-bets-solana-ethereum-decentralized-exchange/ From] [[Crypto Briefing]] (27-7-2020):

"''FTX is building a [[DEX]], [[Serum]], on the Solana [[blockchain]] with the help of partners like [[Kyber Network]] and [[Multicoin Capital]]. Serum is [[cross-chain]] comptaible, giving it access to liquidity on [[DeFi]] [[dApps]] on [[Ethereum]]. The DEX will run on a central limit orderbook, but will still operate in a [[trustless]] manner."''

=== NFT Marketplace ===

* Has [https://cryptobriefing.com/ftx-exchange-launches-nft-marketplace/ launched] a new [[Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)|NFT]] marketplace (3-6-2021). Seems to only have really [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/116700/you-can-now-mint-nfts-on-crypto-exchange-ftx launched] now (6-9-2021).

== Usage ==

* Revenue [https://twitter.com/Kr00ney/status/1561052914029928448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1561053841696727045%7Ctwgr%5Eb9f54937320454033658e57c1a9a9127c8345120%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.milkroad.com%2Fp%2Finside-ftxs-leaked-numbers grew] 1,000% over the last year (8-2022),  topped $1B. Profitable, with 27% operating margins. Most biz coming from derivatives, outside U.S. - Global footprint growing through M&A. Revenue jumped from $90m in 2020 → $1.2b in 2021. Operating income spiked from $14m → $272m in 2021.  Acquired ~15 smaller companies around the world to expand global footprint (Surprisingly, FTX US only makes up ~5% of total revenue).
*[https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/ftx-2#toc-entities-doppleg-ngers-2 From] The Generalist (8-8-2021):

''"FTX grew daily trading volume from $50 million to $150 million in less than two weeks. It jumped to $300 million two weeks after that.''

''After its most recent fundraising round, FTX noted it was reducing the available leverage on the platform to 20x. As part of the announcement, the company [https://cointelegraph.com/news/ftx-reduces-max-leverage-from-101x-to-20x-to-encourage-responsible-trading revealed] that leveraged trading makes up a relatively small portion of volume on the platform. Per [[Sam Bankman-Fried|SBF]], the average investment on margin was 2x at the time of the update.''

''Reviewing data from March of this year, Turkey is actually FTX’s largest market from a userbase perspective, with more than 20% coming from the country. Others in the top ten including Korea, Gibraltar, Australia, China, and Japan.'' 

''These shares change when analyzing on a volume basis. Most volume comes from institutions, which FTX doesn’t nationalize. Beyond that though, most trading comes from Taiwan, followed by China, and Hong Kong. This breakdown indicates that FTX’s power base is really in Asia, with Singapore and Korea also included.''

''Finally, looking at revenue by country, we get yet another view. Though there are fewer Korean than Turkish users, for example, they are the biggest revenue contributors. Switzerland, Australia, Gibraltar, and Canada round out the top five. It is perhaps telling that the United States is not included in this analysis.''

''We can see that FTX’s userbase benefits from some serious [[whales]]. More than 25% of total volume comes from a grouping that moves more than $30 billion per month. More than 50% comes from a segment that moves more than $3 billion. This is a market designed for those with considerable appetites. "''

=== Projects that use or built on it ===

* [[Serum (SRM)|Serum]]

== Competition ==

* [[Binance]] and other [[Exchange Tokens|exchange tokens]].

== Pros and Cons ==
=== Pros ===
=== Cons ===

* Went bankrupt and turned out to have scammed user deposits massively. Their crash itself was also [https://thedefiant.io/ftx-mints-195m-ftt-tokens riddled] with red flags. [https://thedefiant.io/ftx-crisis-shifts-into-new-phase-as-contagion-spreads-and-investors-scramble-for-cover From] [[The Defiant]] (10-11-2022):

''"On Nov. 9, Semafor reported that most of FTX’s legal and compliance staff had quit the previous day. FTX was also criticized for continuing to accept deposits amid its liquidity woes. Earlier today, FTX published a notice on its website reading “we strongly advise against depositing.” Alameda Research’s website went offline on Wednesday."''
* Their token [https://defirate.com/cream-ftt-delisting/ is] [[centralized]] (14-10-2020).
*Alameda is [https://twitter.com/CroissantEth/status/1583279221853794304 know] to be ruthless and dumps on retail often (21-10-2022).

== Team, Funding, Partners ==
=== Team ===
* [[Sam Bankman-Fried]]; ex-CEO (9-11-2022, stepped down during the crash) and Founder ''"Before founding Alameda and then FTX, Sam was a trader on [[Jane Street]] Capital’s international [[ETF]] desk. He traded a variety of ETFs, futures, currencies, and equities, and designed their automated [[OTC]] trading system.  He graduated from [[MIT]] with a degree in physics."''
* [[Gary Wang]]; CTO and Founder ''"Gary was a software engineer at [[Google]] prior to founding Alameda and FTX with Sam.  There, he built systems to aggregate prices across millions of flights, decreasing [[latency]] and memory usage by over 50%.  He graduated from MIT with a degree in Mathematics with Computer Science."''
* [[Sergei Chan]]
* From their [https://help.ftx.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029839371-About-FTX About Us] (20-4-2020):
''"FTX is owned by FTX Trading LTD, a company incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda.''

''FTX was incubated by [http://alameda-research.com/ Alameda Research Ltd.], a top cryptocurrency [[liquidity provider]].  FTX has had industry-leading orderbooks from day one."''

* During the market crash of 2022 it still [https://decrypt.co/103072/who-is-firing-and-hiring-during-bitcoin-bear-market continued] hiring and had approximately 250 employees. Later on turned out to actually be trying to keep up appearances. 

=== Funding ===
*A new list of creditors was [https://decrypt.co/120029/ftx-creditors-apple-netflix-coinbase-court-documents-reveal released] (26-1-2023):
''"Wednesday’s matrix includes numerous companies native to the digital assets industry, such as [[Coinbase (COIN)|Coinbase]], [[Binance]] Capital Management, [[Chainalysis]], [[Yuga Labs]], [[Doodles]], and [[Silvergate Bank]]. [[Reddit]] is also mentioned as a creditor. But Silvergate is only one of several banks mentioned in the creditor matrix, which lists others like [[Citi|CitiGroup]] and [[Wells Fargo]]. Companies that had also invested in the now-bankrupt venture, such as [[Blackrock]] and [[Sequoia Capital]], are also listed. Some instances of companies being mentioned could pertain to money owed by FTX for goods and services. Pharmacy CVS is listed as one of the exchange’s corporate creditors, as well as Netflix and Comcast. Twelve different creditors that include Doordash in their name are listed in the matrix. Multiple departments of revenue from numerous states across the U.S. are included in the creditor matrix as well, from Alabama to Wyoming. The credit matrix also outlines the Bahamas Ministry of Finance as a creditor in the bankruptcy case."''

And [https://news.bitcoin.com/ftx-publishes-creditor-list-owes-millions-to-well-known-institutions-and-government-agencies/ more]:

"The creditors’ list includes government agencies from Switzerland, Hong Kong, the U.S., and Japan. In addition, the ledger features a myriad of well-known businesses, including [[Alibaba]], Allied Sports, [[Airbnb]], [[Apple]], [[Microsoft]], [[Amazon]], [[Meta (MVRS)|Meta]], [[Twitter]], [[Google]], Blue Bottle Coffee, Bonham Capital, [[Bitstamp]], [[Bitgo]], [[Infura]], Inca Digital, Lightspeed Strategic Partners, Long Watch Security, Mercedes-Benz, [[Messari]], Nomura, and O’Leary Productions. Creditors further include banks, [[Stanford University]], Fox News, [[CoinDesk (DESK)|Coindesk]], and the Wall Street Journal."
*For a full list of companies and projects FTX/Alameda invested in (255 companies) as of the time of their crash (11-2022), check [https://twitter.com/Edvis100/status/1591106598436761603 here]. ''"Some of the more recent deals included Martian Wallet, [[Lens Protocol]], and [[Fordefi]]."''
*[[Chris McCann]] was an early investor in FTX ([https://decrypt.co/62162/bitclout-reaped-160m-tokens-pegged-celebs-followed-money 20-3-2021]).
*From their [https://help.ftx.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029839371-About-FTX About Us] (20-4-2020):
"''FTX was founded with the goal of donating to the world’s [https://www.effectivealtruism.org/ most effective charities].  FTX, its affiliates, and its employees have donated over $10m to help save lives, prevent suffering, and ensure a brighter future."''
* [[Aptos]]; took part in their [https://medium.com/aptoslabs/expanding-the-aptos-community-38c5b18a84b7 $200m] strategic round (15-3-2022). [https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/07/25/aptos-labs-raises-150m-to-revive-diem-in-ftx-ventures-led-funding-round/?s=35 Lead] their next round of $150M (26-7-2022).
*1inch. [https://www.coindesk.com/dex-1inch-2-8m-from-binance-galaxy Participated] in a $2.8M raise for [[1inch]] (11-8-2020).
* [[Bastion Protocol (BSTN)|Bastion]]; part of the [https://twitter.com/bastionprotocol/status/1517169392294916096 $9M Series A raise], announced on the same day as its token got launched (21-4-2022).
*[[Bitvo]]; got [https://www.theblock.co/post/152681/ftx-is-acquiring-canadian-cryptocurrency-trading-platform-bitvo bought] (17-6-2022).
*[[BlockFi]]; made a $680M credit deal with FTX US and an acquisition path (2-7-2022). Bought it for [https://thedefiant.io/ftx-agrees-to-buy-blockfi/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email $240M] on 1-7-2022.
*[[Celestia]]; FTX Ventures participated in their [https://blog.celestia.org/celestia-raises-55m-to-launch-modular-blockchain-network/ $55M raise] (20-10-2022).
*Frontier. [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/76074/defi-aggregator-frontier-seed-round Participated] in a $1.85M [[seed]] round for [[Frontier]] (1-9-2020).
* [[LayerZero (Project)|LayerZero]]; part of the Series A of  [https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/30/a16z-ftx-and-sequoia-lead-155m-round-for-layerzero-at-1b-valuation/ $135 million] (31-3-2022).
*[[Mina (MINA)|Mina]]; Led a [https://twitter.com/MinaProtocol/status/1504487976528715780 $92M] raise on 17-3-2022.
*mStable. They [https://twitter.com/mstable_/status/1284067804950347777 invested] in [[mStable]] together with Alamada Research (which also invested in Frontier)
*[[Paxos]]; part of their [https://decrypt.co/77080/bank-of-america-ftx-and-coinbase-ventures-join-300m-investment-in-paxos $300M] D Series (29-7-2021).
*According to [https://twitter.com/cyber_hokie/status/1302766451892400128 this] [[twitter]] thread (7-9-2020):
''"[[Binance]] backs [[Band Protocol (BAND)|Band]], FTX (aka SBF Alameda, the new [[SushiSwap (SUSHI)|sushi]] controller), and [[Serum]] (via [[3commas Cap]])."'' 

Update (25-7-2021): SBF has [https://decrypt.co/76584/ftx-ceo-sam-bankman-fried-why-bought-out-binance-investment-shares-exit?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=smt bought back] the Binance shares in FTX, presumably due to regulatory issues around Binance heating up.

* [[Circle]]; was one of the investors in the [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/106473/after-440-million-fundraise-circle-is-said-to-be-considering-a-spac-deal $440M] fundraise for Circle (28-5-2021).
*[https://www.coindesk.com/tom-brady-gisele-bundchen-become-part-owners-of-ftx From] [[CoinDesk (DESK)|CoinDesk]] (30-6-2021):

''"Tom Brady and his wife, Gisele Bündchen, will each be taking an equity [[stake]] in FTX Trading Ltd., the company behind Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.COM and FTX.US.''

''The couple will receive crypto as part of a deal that makes Brady an exchange ambassador and Bündchen FTX’s environmental & social initiatives adviser, a [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ftx-tom-brady--gisele-bundchen-announce-long-term-partnership-301321814.html press release] Tuesday said. The specific financial terms of the long-term partnership with Bankman-Fried’s exchange company weren’t disclosed. FTX subsidiary [[Blockfolio]] is also involved in the package."''

* [https://decrypt.co/76447/crypto-exchange-ftx-raises-900-million-valued-at-18-billion?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=smt From] [[Decrypt]] (21-9-2021):

''"FTX has raised $900 million from over 60 investors, bringing its valuation to $18 billion. Investors including Sequoia Capital, Paradigm and [[Coinbase]] Ventures. More than 60 investors participated in its Series B fundraise—the largest ever for a crypto exchange. Revenues have increased over tenfold in 2021, and over a million users now use the platform, which averages over $10B of daily trading volume.''

* [[Sino Global]] [https://twitter.com/TheBlock__/status/1452711617305665545 launched] a $200 million fund with backing from FTX (26-10-2021).
*[[StarkWare]]; took part in the [https://thedefiant.io/ethereum-rollup-startup-starkware-closes-series-d-at-8b-valuation/ $100M Series D] (25-5-2022)
*[[Sui (SUI)|Sui]]; FTX invested in both Aptos as Sui. It was one of the lead investors in Sui's [https://thedefiant.io/sui-raises-300m $300M Series B] (9-9-2022).
*The company [https://news.bitcoin.com/ftx-raises-420-million-in-series-b-1-crypto-exchange-commands-25-billion-valuation/ raised] $420 million from 69 different investors (22-10-2021):

''"According to the announcement, FTX said Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Temasek, [[Sequoia Capital]], Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, [[Tiger Global]], [[Ribbit Capital]], and [[Lightspeed Ventures|Lightspeed Venture Partners]] participated in the latest financing."''

* Had a [[Three Arrows Capital (3AC)|3AC]] position which it [https://decrypt.co/104313/three-arrows-capital-files-for-bankruptcy-report liquidated] after the [[Terra Classic (LUNC)|UST]] fallout in May 2022.
* FTX and Alameda Ventures [https://unchainedpodcast.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0085a41334b3edf854fd51f9b&id=90289ad200&e=1a3015cb6e published] a joint partnership proposal with the recently declared bankrupt Voyager Digital that would see FTX provide early liquidity to customers of Voyager (25-7-2022). Voyager rejected the proposal out of hand as “a low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue,” according to a [https://cases.stretto.com/public/x193/11753/PLEADINGS/1175307242280000000014.pdf court filing]. 

=== Partners ===
* [[Reddit]] has taken FTX as the [https://thedefiant.io/reddit-token-arbitrum-nova partner] for on-ramping (10-8-2022).
*From their [https://help.ftx.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029839371-About-FTX About Us] (20-4-2020):
''"FTX is proud to have partnered or collaborated with [[MANY|many]] leading cryptocurrency firms, including but not limited to:''"

Alemeda Research, [[Circle]], [[BUSD]], [[HUSD]], [[TrueUSD (TUSD)|TrueUSD]], [[Paxos]], [[BiLira]], Fenwick and West, [[Galois Capital]], [[Proof of Capital]], [[TomoChain (TOMO)|TomoChain]], [[Bitfinex]], Mars Finance, [[Consensus Lab]], [[CoinGecko]], [[BitMax]], [[CoinEx.com]], [[FBG]] and [[Lemniscap]].
* Is a partner with [[HUSD]], also according to their [https://www.stcoins.com/ website]  (20-4-2020).

== Alameda Research ==

=== Basics ===
* [https://thedefiant.substack.com/p/when-incentives-are-gone-whats-left-205?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzk3OTAwLCJwb3N0X2lkIjoxODE3NTk0NCwiXyI6ImM5eFJuIiwiaWF0IjoxNjA1MDkyMDM0LCJleHAiOjE2MDUwOTU2MzQsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0xMTI1OSIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.VBb5X2sGi_lgKPqoVq2Bv1l8N-1Gt7T12yYJZ7pnP-I Started] in late 2017 by Sam.
* Quant trading firm / trading desk
*[https://thedefiant.io/adamant-targets-alameda-with-contentious-governance-vote/ From] [[The Defiant]] (13-7-2021):

''"When asked about farming and dumping [[SushiSwap (SUSHI)|SUSHI]] tokens and reportedly shorting [[YEarn (YFI)|YFI]] on our [https://newsletter.thedefiant.io/p/when-incentives-are-gone-whats-left-205 podcast] in November 2020, , Alameda chief Sam Bankman-Fried said his firm’s involvement in [[Defi|DeFi]] was motivated by short-term profits. He added that Alameda will not seek to have a long-term impact on protocols via [[governance]]."''

*[https://bankless.substack.com/p/the-bear-case-for-yield-farming From] [[Bankless]] (27-8-2020):

"''Alameda Research took advantage of with the [[Balancer]] Protocol. As [[Sam Bankman-Fried]] documented on [https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1275927625572036608 Twitter], Alameda was able to game the Balancer Protocol and should have received a ton of $BAL as a result. However, by decree of [[Discord]] chats, Balancer decided to enact a [[whitelist]], meaning Alameda would not receive the rewards."''

* Ran a [[validator]] on [[Klaytn (KLAY)|Klaytn]] ([https://messari.io/report/klaytn-the-enterprise-grade-evm 1-9-2022]).

=== Reputation ===

* Alameda is [https://twitter.com/CroissantEth/status/1583279221853794304 know] to be ruthless and dumps on retail often (21-10-2022).
*The trading desk is respected for its success at making money, but also deemed [https://www.rekt.news/reef-vs-alameda/ notorious]; [[Rekt]] going so far as calling it ''"one of the [https://cointelegraph.com/news/defi-traders-blame-yfi-price-collapse-on-shorting-by-alameda-research most] [https://rekt.eth.link/whale-hunt-sbf-blue-kirby/ savage] trading desks in the business"''.
* Alameda used [[Cream Finance (CREAM)|CREAM]] as to ''"taking over a [[decentralised]] protocol by depositing his own [[centralised]] tokens, and using them as collateral to short other decentralised tokens."'' (9-10-2020)
* Alameda has been blamed for shorting [[YFI]] in the past (12-10-2020)

=== Funding ===

* Their investments got [https://www.ft.com/content/aaa4a42c-efcc-4c60-9dc6-ba6cccb599e6 leaked] in a large sheet (8-12-2022):
''"The disparate bundle of nearly 500 illiquid investments is split across 10 holding companies. The total investment value is given on the spreadsheet as in excess of $5.4bn."''
*[https://thedefiant.io/unsecured-defi-lenders-look-shaky-post-ftx From] [[The Defiant]] (15-11-2022):
''"Alameda Research owes various unsecured DeFi lenders almost $13M. While a relatively small figure, it accounts for about 7% of $176.8M in total value locked for those protocols. Major players in the space like [[TrueFi (TRU)|TrueFi]], [[dAMM Finance]] and [[Clearpool]] have all seen their [[Total Value Locked (TVL)|TVL]] drop by over 40% in the last week — TrueFi led the way down, with its TVL dropping 71% to $12.4M. [[DeFi Llama]] founder, [[0xngmi]], cited a lack of confidence in lending to market makers as the reason for the drop in TVL. “I’ve got to imagine undercollateralized lending took a big hit here,” [[Adam Cochran]] tweeted in response to 0xngmi. “So many pool owners came out and touted no FTX exposure, but had large TVL  drops.”"''
*Has been [https://www.coindesk.com/alameda-research-oxygen-defi-prime-brokerage-oxy investing] with [[CMS Holdings|CMS]] and [[Genesis Capital]] on at least two projects (24-2-2021). Also together in the aUSD fund.
*[[Acala (ACA)|Acala's]] [https://medium.com/acalanetwork/polkadot-parachains-and-venture-funds-team-up-to-launch-250-million-ausd-ecosystem-fund-to-grow-1592f925799a aUSD Ecosystem Fund]; one of the founding funds to grow the [[Acala]] [[Stablecoins|stablecoin]] (23-3-2022)
*[[Alchemix (ALCX)|Alchemix]]; part of a [https://www.coindesk.com/defi-lending-protocol-alchemix-raises-4-9m-in-round-led-by-cms-alameda $4.9 million] funding raise (15-3-2021).
*[[Anchor (ANC)|Anchor]]; [[Do Kwon]] mentioned them as part of a [https://twitter.com/d0h0k1/status/1371738421559914496 $20M raise], calling the participants the '[[Anchor]] [[Whale|whales]]' (16-3-2021)
*APY.Finance. [https://www.coindesk.com/defi-yield-farming-aggregator-apy-finance-raises-3-6m-in-seed-funding Participated] in a $3.6M seed funding round for [[APY.Finance]] (26-9-2020).
*[[Arbitrum]]; took part in the [https://news.bitcoin.com/offchain-labs-launches-arbitrum-one-mainnet-startup-raises-120-million/ $120M] raise (1-9-2021)
*[[ArmorFinance (ARMOR)|Armor.Fi]]. [https://medium.com/armorfi/armor-fi-announces-strategic-backers-15631e2ab607 Joined] Armor as one of its 'strategic investors' (31-1-2021).
*[[Balancer]]. [https://medium.com/paradigm-fund/defi-in-ether-1inch-launches-v2-keep3r-network-v1-beta-now-live-uma-announces-developer-mining-b16ffe0d1e03 From] [[Paradigm]] (10-11-2020):
<nowiki> </nowiki>"<em>Balancer Labs [https://medium.com/balancer-protocol/pantera-capital-and-alameda-research-invest-in-balancer-to-accelerate-growth-of-programmable-faae530649be announced] that [[Pantera Capital]] and Alameda Research have made an investment in Balancer, through the direct purchase of BAL tokens from the Balancer Labs treasury."</em>
*[[Big Data Protocol (BDP)|Big Data Protocol]]. From a [https://twitter.com/CroissantEth/status/1583279221853794304 thread] on the past of [[Alameda]] (21-10-2022): ''"This token once acquired 10% of all [[Decentralized Finance (DeFi)|DeFi]] [[Total Value Locked (TVL)|TVL]] in a single weekend, with over $6B in total value locked. ~$1B of the TVL belonged to Alameda, who dumped it relentlessly on plebs. From $114M mcap down to just $581K today."''
*[[ChainSwap (ASAP)|ChainSwap]]; backed it ([https://www.rekt.news/chainswap-rekt/ 13-7-2021]).
*[[Dune Analytics]]; [[Dune]] [https://duneanalytics.com/home mentions] them as one of their backers (22-3-2021).
*[[Espresso Systems]]; is [https://www.espressosys.com/about#s4 mentioned] on their website as an investor, while the project has no tokens out yet (25-10-2022).
*Frontier. [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/76074/defi-aggregator-frontier-seed-round Participated] in a $1.85M seed round for [[Frontier]] (1-9-2020).
*[[Hedgehog Markets]]; participated in a [https://twitter.com/CoinDesk/status/1420029598679568396 $3.5M] funding round (27-7-2021).
*[[Helium Token (HNT)|Helium]]; part of a [https://twitter.com/TheBlock__/status/1425255811731894278 $111M] token sale (11-8-2021).
*[[InsurAce]]; [https://thedefiant.io/insurace-raises-3m-in-round-led-by-alameda-hashkey/ participated] in a $3M raise (4-3-2021).
*[[KeeperDAO (ROOK)|KeeperDAO]]; [https://etherscan.io/tx/0x030e0bbc9e789dc5a439aa7f637afd2eedeaf23caa40c0976b80d04715606f9c purchased] 42,800 ROOK tokens (14-2-2021).
*Klaytn. Runs a [[validator]] on [[Klaytn (KLAY)|Klaytn]] ([https://messari.io/report/klaytn-the-enterprise-grade-evm 1-9-2022]).
*Linear Finance. [https://www.coindesk.com/defi-protocol-linear-finance-investment-alameda-research Participated] in a $1.8M seed round for [[Linear Finance]] (9-9-2020).
*[[Liquity (LQTY)|Liquity]]; part of their [https://cointelegraph.com/news/pantera-capital-backs-liquidity-protocol-s-6m-series-a-funding-round $6M raise] (29-3-2021).
*[[Maple Finance (MPL)|Maple Finance]]; [https://www.coindesk.com/maple-finance-corporate-lending-defi participated] in a $1.3M raise (12-2020).
*[[Maps.me (MAPS)|Maps.me]]; [https://decrypt.co/54326/alameda-leads-50-million-seed-funding-round-in-maps-me participated] in its $50M funding round (18-1-2021).
*[[Mask Network (MASK)|Mask Network]]; part of a [https://www.coindesk.com/mask-network-twitter-encrypted-messages-hashkey-funding-round $2M funding round] (17-11-2020).
*MathWallet. [https://twitter.com/MathWallet/status/1315565911856816128?s=09 Invested] $7.8M in [[MathWallet]] together with [[Multicoin Capital]] (12-10-2020).
*[[Messari]]; Alameda Capital took part in the [https://thedefiant.io/point72-invests-in-messari/ $21M funding] round (5-8-2021).
*mStable. They [https://twitter.com/mstable_/status/1284067804950347777 invested] in [[mStable]] together with FTX.
*[[Nerve Finance (NRV)|Nerve Finance]]; part of a [https://nervefinance.medium.com/nerve-finance-strategic-round-led-by-3-arrows-capital-cms-holdings-and-alameda-research-2eb36b76a0cc $2M token OTC] (12-4-2021).
*[[Opium Protocol]]. [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/83294/defi-credit-default-swap-platform-opium-protocol-raises-nearly-3-25-million Part] of a $3.25M raise (2-11-2020).
*[[Oxygen]]; [https://www.coindesk.com/alameda-research-oxygen-defi-prime-brokerage-oxy from] [[Coindesk]] (24-2-2021): ''"is leading a $40 million investment round in [https://www.oxygen.org/ Oxygen], which aims to do for [[DeFi]] what [[Robinhood]] has done for stocks – only without the reliance on [[centralized]] legacy settlement systems. Alameda is joined by [[Multicoin]], [[Genesis Capital]] and [[CMS]] in the round."''
*Perpetual Protocol. [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/75951/defi-perpetual-protocol-funding-multicoin Part] of a $1.8M raise for [[Perpetual Protocol]] (1-9-2020).
* [[Razor Network]]; part of a $3.7M [https://www.coindesk.com/razor-network-oracles-funding-round funding round] (4-11-2020).
*[[Reef Finance (REEF)|Reef Finance]]; Alameda Research [https://twitter.com/TheBlock__/status/1370374652149780484 bought] $20 million in REEF tokens according Reef (12-3-2021). Turned into [https://twitter.com/comfytrades/status/1371637430353334275?s=20 a shit show] in which both sides blamed each other (16-3-2021).
*[[Saddle]]; is mentioned as an investor on Saddle's [https://saddle.finance/ website] (17-6-2021).
*[[Secret Network (SCRT)|Secret Network]]; bought SCRT in an [https://scrt.network/blog/secret-network-400m-ecosystem-funding-new-investors OTC deal] (16-1-2022).
*[[Solana (SOL)|Solana]]; part of a [https://www.coindesk.com/solana-labs-raises-314m-in-token-sale-led-by-a16z-polychain $314M] raise with a token sale (9-6-2021).
*[[Stargate Finance (STG)|Stargate]]; from a [https://twitter.com/CroissantEth/status/1583279232611848192?s=20&t=IoHabJ4xoiBiIv65SBFOKA thread] on Alameda's ruthless past (21-10-2022): ''"The Alameda team sniped the $25M auction in the first block, and claimed they won’t be selling for “at least” three years. A short time after they secretly sent 8.4M STG to FTX & Binance. From $4.14 down to $0.42 today"''
*[[StarkWare]]; part of a [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/99211/starkware-funding-round-ethereum-paradigm $75M] raise (24-3-2021). Took part in the [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/124479/ethereum-layer-2-developer-starkware-raises-50-million-now-valued-at-2-billion?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social Series C] raise of $50m (17-11-2021).
*[[Umee (UMEE)|Umee]]; is mentioned as a backer on the Umee [https://umee.cc/ website] (14-11-2022).
*[[UNION]]. [https://decrypt.co/47747/alameda-vcs-pour-4-million-into-defi-risk-management-firm From] [[Decrypt]] (10-11-2020):

''"Raised $3.9 million for a platform to insure individuals and investors. [[3 Commas]], [[AAM]], Alameda Research, [[Alpha Chain]], [[Black Edge Capital]], [[Solidity Ventures]], and [[Spark Digital Capital]] provided the bulk of the capital for the startup, which is eyeing a platform release “in the coming months.”''

* [[Voyager]]; Alameda was the [https://decrypt.co/104570/sam-bankman-fried-alameda-research-bankrupt-voyager-377m second biggest borrower] (6-7-2022) after [[Three Arrows Capital (3AC)|3AC]], it did later on [https://twitter.com/alamedaresearch/status/1545244404910239744 say] they are ready to pay back the loan any time. All of this is confusing, since Voyager secured a [https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-firm-voyager-digital-secures-a-500m-line-of-credit-from-alameda-ventures-to-cope-with-3ac-exposure/ $500M line of credit] from Alameda to deal with its issues just on the 26th of June before.

=== Team, funding, partners ===
*[[Sam Bankman-Fried]]; founder
*Caroline Ellison; CEO
*[[Sam Trabucco]]; ex-co CEO, [https://twitter.com/alamedatrabucco/status/1562519114979356673 announced] his departure on 25-8-2022.
* FTX [https://help.ftx.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029839371-About-FTX says] it has collaborated with them, they were also part of the same seed round for Frontier.
*The [[REN (REN)|REN]] team has joined Alameda and says Alameda ''"will be helping to accelerate the [[decentralisation]] of RenVM by participating in the Greycore early on (in [[Testnet]] and [[Mainnet]])"'' (2-2-2021).
*[https://www.asiadefi.network/ Mentioned] (13-7-2021) as part of the Investor Network of [[Asia DeFi Network (ADN)]].

[[Category:Coins/Tokens]]