FTX Drainer, Alameda Research Withdrawing Millions In Crypto Assets

FTX’s sister trading firm Alameda Research has withdrawn nearly 115 million USDC stablecoins from Circle in the last two days. Meanwhile, FTX Drainer addresses are withdrawing crypto assets worth millions from FTX and FTX US wallets. The main FTX Drainer has become the 33rd largest ETH holder as it swaps other crypto assets to Ethereum.

Withdrawals Continue From FTX and Alameda After Bankruptcy

PeckShieldAlert in a tweet on November 17 revealed a transfer of another 60 million USDC from Circle to Alameda Research. Almost 55 million USDC was transferred from Circle to Alameda Research yesterday. Therefore, the trading firm has withdrawn nearly 115 million USDC until now.

Meanwhile, FTX Accounts Drainer 0x59a…32b has become the 33rd largest Ethereum (ETH) holder, overtaking crypto exchange Crypto.com. It has 235392.45 ETH worth over $280 million, with the wallet’s net worth being almost $300 million.

The FTX Drainer, along with other drainer accounts, continues to withdraw crypto assets from FTX and FTX US wallets. Drainer addresses are withdrawing crypto assets and swapping them to Ethereum.

According to Lookonchain data, most hackers deposit funds into money mixer Tornado Cash. However, U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions against Tornado Cash in August may prevent hackers to deposit large amounts of ETH in Tornado Cash. Moreover, Tornado Cash currently holds 95,562 ETH, far less than FTX Accounts Drainer.

Some believe hackers will dump ETH holdings or possibly short ETH before selling. Whereas, others believe FTX is withdrawing and swapping to Ethereum as it faced ETH shortfall amid the liquidity crunch.

Recently, FTX Accounts Drainer has bridged 6,868 ETH worth $8.26 million from BNB Chain to Ethereum. FTX hacker has transferred almost $700 million from FTX and FTX US.

Ethereum Price Under Pressure

While there are theories of FTX Drainer dumping Ethereum, ETH price fell over 4% in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, the ETH price is trading at $1,200.

Surprisingly, the crypto market has failed to rally despite the fall in the US Dollar Index (DXY). The DXY is now at 106.41. Analysts believe another increase in DXY may push ETH to $1000.