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@ nym
2023-08-01 04:57:59
On Monday, an unidentified developer withdrew all liquidity from the BALD meme coin on the Ethereum layer-2 network, Base. Some blockchain analysts are speculating that the wallet involved may be linked to Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, who is currently under house arrest with restricted internet access.
Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran expressed his suspicion on Twitter, noting that the implicated wallet had previous involvement in the SushiSwap community. Cochran inferred that the early voting patterns in Sushi governance appeared dubious, with Bankman-Fried being the key individual behind snapshot votes during the community takeover following the departure of SushiSwap's creator, Chef Nomi.
In September 2020, Bankman-Fried had successfully salvaged funds from Uniswap, transferring them to SushiSwap. Cochran voiced his confidence that the party behind the actions was associated with Alameda, FTX, or was Bankman-Fried himself, based on conversations with former FTX members.
Several observers connected the language used by the Bald Twitter account to Bankman-Fried's own distinctive phrasing. Furthermore, on-chain activities corresponded with Bankman-Fried's court appearances and bail dates.
A Reddit-sourced investigation revealed that the BALD developer wallet had received deposits from FTX and Alameda over the span of two years and currently holds a balance of approximately 12,331 ETH, valued around $22 million at the time of the report.
Additional information surfaced on Twitter highlighting a correlation between the wallet that regularly deposited into the BALD developer's Binance wallet and a wallet involved in the substantial Terra USD depeg in the previous year. Since facing charges of conspiracy and fraud by the U.S. Department of Justice, following FTX's collapse, Bankman-Fried has been under house arrest. His legal team and the prosecution have struggled to monitor his internet use across numerous devices.
According to his bail conditions, Bankman-Fried was required to use a basic flip phone in place of a smartphone. His legal team admitted their inability to install surveillance software on his parent's phones as agreed.
In response to his alleged tampering with government witnesses, the prosecution submitted a request to revoke Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond to presiding federal judge Lewis Kaplan last week.
While a section of Crypto Twitter implicated Bankman-Fried, others acknowledged the speculative nature of these accusations. Some users, such as Sam Trabucco, co-chief executive of Alameda, were even identified as potential culprits.
The story continues to evolve, with the BALD developer adding 100 ETH back into the pool following significant social media pressure. This move caused the meme coin's value to surge more than four times over its recent low value.