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Alameda Takes Aim at Waves in $90M Fund Retrieval Suit

In the latest legal twist for the FTX bankruptcy saga, Alameda Research, the crypto trading firm closely linked to FTX, has filed a fresh lawsuit against Waves founder Aleksandr Ivanov. The goal? A hefty $90 million clawback as part of the FTX estate’s broader scramble to recoup assets for creditors. This Sunday court filing spotlights Ivanov and Vires.Finance, a DeFi platform on the Waves blockchain, as Alameda zeroes in on transactions it claims were far from fair play.

Back in March 2022, Alameda allegedly deposited $80 million in USDT and USDC on Vires.Finance, expecting reliable returns. Those deposits supposedly morphed into around $90 million worth of USDN, the Waves-backed stablecoin, which Alameda now argues it’s rightfully owed. Users of Vires were enticed to deposit assets via Waves, scoring governance perks in the Vires DAO and pocketing returns—or so they thought. But the lawsuit alleges a murkier backstory.

Alleged Price Manipulation and Stalled Communication

In the lawsuit, Alameda accuses Ivanov of more than just marketing Waves and Vires as profitable ventures. The filing suggests he covertly engineered transactions that puffed up the value of WAVES, while allegedly redirecting funds from Vires’ liquidity pools. This apparent inflation, they claim, masked a strategy of siphoning funds, leaving the firm and other lenders high and dry.

Alameda’s legal team stated they’ve “repeatedly attempted to regain custody of their frozen assets.” They even secured one conversation with Ivanov in January 2023. But Ivanov, they say, has since been out of reach, ignoring all other attempts to settle up—a detail that only seems to stoke Alameda’s resolve in this pursuit.

FTX Estate Launches Broad Wave of Recovery Lawsuits

This lawsuit isn’t a lone move; it’s part of a broader offensive by the FTX estate. In recent days, over 20 recovery suits have landed against various individuals and firms, each aiming to claw back funds tied to FTX’s collapse. Among the defendants are SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci, Storybook Brawl game developers, and Deltec Bank’s Jean Chalopin. The hunt for assets is expanding as FTX’s liquidators seek to satisfy creditors with whatever they can wring from the now-defunct exchange’s dealings.

In the meantime, Waves has felt some pressure on the price front, slipping 0.3% to $1.12 in the last 24 hours. With its market cap hovering near $112 million, the token remains in a slump, worsened by Binance’s decision to delist Waves in June, sparking a swift 30% price dive.