Alameda Research Sues Blockchain Developer to Recover $90M in FTX Assets

Alameda Research, the trading arm linked to the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has taken legal action against Waves founder Aleksandr Ivanov and his associated companies, aiming to recover at least $90 million.

In a recent court filing, Alameda is demanding the return of assets valued at $90 million, which it claims belong to both Alameda and FTX’s bankruptcy estate. According to the filing, Alameda originally deposited about $80 million in USDT and USDC on Vires.Finance, a liquidity platform within the Waves ecosystem, in March 2022. This sum was reportedly converted into roughly $90 million in USDN.

Alameda’s filing alleges that Vires.Finance users were encouraged to deposit on the Waves blockchain for rewards, interest, and governance rights within the Vires DAO. However, Alameda contends that Ivanov manipulated the value of the WAVES token through a series of undisclosed transactions, while simultaneously extracting funds from the platform.

Alameda also claimed it has made multiple attempts to retrieve its frozen assets, managing to secure only a single call with Ivanov in January 2023, after which he ceased further communication, the filing states.

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This lawsuit is part of a broader effort by the FTX estate to recover funds for its creditors, with over 20 similar lawsuits recently filed. Other prominent targets include figures like SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci, developers of the game Storybook Brawl, and Deltec Bank chairman Jean Chalopin.

Alexander Stefanov