Almeda Research Invests in Voyager Digital. Almeda Research is a quantitative trading firm that was founded in September 2017 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Tara Mac Aulay. It specializes in trading digital assets and providing liquidity to the cryptocurrency markets.
A recent Financial Times (FT) investigation found that the firm made more than $5 billion in investments, including in odd ventures like a fertility company and a drone manufacturer. In total, the FT report says that Alameda Research pumped money into a wide range of blockchain projects and tokens.
Founded by Sam Bankman-Fried
Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, started Alameda Research in 2017, and the firm soon grew into one of the most successful quant trading firms in the industry. It applied Wall Street-style wizardry to the cryptocurrency market, and it earned billions in profits before it crashed in 2022.
But while Alameda made money, its trading tactics were largely based on borrowing from customers and using those funds to make trades, according to people familiar with the firm’s finances. These strategies were profitable in the short run, but they eventually became less profitable as more sophisticated investors began to take risks.
During the FTX and Alameda Research’s rise, Bankman-Fried’s company tapped into a secret line of credit that allowed him to borrow more than $10 billion from FTX customers without their knowledge. He also pushed to get customer funds transferred from FTX to Alameda, according to a source familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the details were confidential.
After FTX and Alameda Research collapsed in November, Bankman-Fried’s company had no liquidity. So he moved the company to the Bahamas and took on new partners, including Gary Wang.
In December, Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States and put on a $250 million appearance bond. He was then freed from jail and sent to Palo Alto, where he is staying with his parents.
A week after he was released from custody, Bankman-Fried made his first Twitter post, denouncing what he called “a series of mysterious transfers and token swaps” that were made from wallets associated with Alameda Research. He claimed he had no involvement in the transactions, and that he did not have access to them in the first place.
The revelation prompted many crypto observers to question the man who built one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrencies. They also questioned whether Bankman-Fried had a good track record of integrity.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of Alameda Research, was arrested in the Bahamas in December and charged with fraud after his company collapsed. The charges include mismanagement and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Invested in FTX Token (FTT)
Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading firm, Alameda Research, accumulated 18 tokens worth $60 million before listing them on the FTX exchange ahead of their launch. According to crypto compliance firm Argus, this was done with the intention of frontrunning token listings on FTX.
The firm accumulated the tokens before FTX’s announcement of their listings, which occurred on 29 July 2019. Argus also showcased that the funds were received in three different ways: directly from FTX’s Deployer (who minted them), through a deposit wallet and through a loan position. Moreover, the company also acquired 5m FTT during this time, which was later sent back to FTX’s Deployer.
In addition to accumulating FTT, Alameda Research also lent money to other crypto firms. These firms then used the funds to make speculative bets on other cryptocurrencies and complex financial products. This allowed them to earn a profit from the risk they took without having to invest any of their own funds.
Ultimately, the FTX’s failure to keep up with customer withdrawals and the threat of rival Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao selling off its FTT tokens triggered a run on the exchange and forced the company to suspend all withdrawals. By the end of that week, FTX was unable to continue paying customers and filed for bankruptcy.
While the company’s founder Bankman-Fried maintained that he and his firm were separate entities, a CoinDesk report revealed that the majority of Alameda Research’s balance sheet consisted of FTT tokens. This prompted a bank run on the exchange and sparked a series of events that led to FTX’s bankruptcy filing.
As the story has unfolded, more details have been revealed about FTX’s collapse. Its parent company has been ensnared in an investigation by federal regulators, including the of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.
A source told CoinDesk that FTX had been lending a large amount of its own funds to Alameda, which then used the funds to buy other cryptocurrencies and help other crypto firms recover from an overall downturn in the market. The source explained that the FTX’s off balance sheet customer assets essentially acted as collateral for these loans, and if Alameda couldn’t pay off its loan, then FTX would lose money.
Invested in BlockFi
Almeda Research is an investor in BlockFi, a crypto lending company that offers interest-bearing accounts and USD loans secured by crypto. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Its products and services include crypto trading and lending, cryptocurrency asset management, and crypto custodial services.
The company’s founders have years of experience in the financial services industry. Zac Prince is the Founder & CEO, while Flori Marquez is the Co-Founder & VP of Operations. They both have extensive experience in alternative lending and product development.
While BlockFi isn’t a traditional bank, it does offer FDIC and SIPC insurance for its digital assets. This makes it a more secure option than Coinbase, which doesn’t offer these protections and can easily crash during volatile market conditions.
Its crypto asset accounts pay interest on a variety of currencies, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. These accounts also have low fees and are easy to use, making them a good choice for investors who don’t have much experience with cryptocurrencies or don’t want to pay commissions when buying or selling coins.
However, BlockFi’s customer support is lacking compared to the larger crypto exchanges, so it’s a good idea to do your research before choosing an investment platform. If you need help, you can either talk to a customer service representative via live chat or submit an email ticket.
In addition, BlockFi doesn’t charge a percentage-based fee for trading on its platform, making it a good option for investors who are dollar-cost averaging. Users can set up recurring trades and earn interest on their coins over time.
The company’s assets were worth $1.2 billion at the end of January, according to documents that accidentally surfaced on Tuesday. Its exposure to FTX and Alameda Research is $200 million higher than previously believed, according to CNBC. In November, BlockFi said it had $355 million in digital assets linked to FTX and $671 million in loan to Alameda, but those numbers were likely overstated given the recent rally in crypto prices.
Invested in Voyager
Alameda Research, the trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, has invested in Voyager Digital. The company, which operates a digital asset exchange, announced this investment on October 28.
According to the news, the firm will invest $75 million in Voyager’s cryptocurrency lending platform. The investment is part of an agreement that will make Voyager a “key lending partner” on the platform.
The announcement comes after a series of lawsuits filed by Alameda Research, one of the arms of FTX, against the now-bankrupt crypto exchange. The company alleges that the exchange received preferential payments from the firm while FTX collapsed.
As part of the lawsuit, attorneys overseeing the bankruptcy case for FTX and Alameda have claimed that they are entitled to claw back $445.8 million of loans repaid to Voyager in the months before both companies’ bankruptcy filings. The company also claims that these loan repayments were made very close to each other, which makes them eligible for recovery under bankruptcy laws.
While it is difficult to know how this situation will develop, the news of Alameda Research’s lawsuit against Voyager Digital is a major development in the FTX story. It is hoped that the court will consider this and other legal actions taken by the FTX-linked entities to recover their lost funds.
On January 30, attorneys handling the bankruptcy for FTX and Alameda filed a lawsuit against Voyager in a Delaware court. The lawsuit claimed that the exchange and its affiliates lent customer money to Alameda Research and benefited from preferential transfers of property before the firms filed for bankruptcy.
In the suit, lawyers for Alameda claimed that Voyager Digital had sought to provide the company with credit in various cryptocurrencies. This included Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and the USD Coin (USDC).
The lawsuit also claimed that Voyager’s business model was a feeder fund, meaning it solicited individual investors to place their capital in bitcoin investment funds. These funds were then used by the hedge funds to buy crypto assets.
The lawsuit argues that Voyager’s business model was not legitimate, and the loans were made without due diligence or consideration of the risks. The company did not follow a sound business strategy, which led to its failure. The company also failed to disclose information about its financial condition and hid information from creditors, which caused losses to its shareholders.
