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Alameda Research lost $190M to scams and 'questionable’ blockchains: WhistleblowerFormer Alameda Research engineer Aditya Baradwaj says one trader lost more than $100 million after clicking on a fake link.
FTX’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research lost at least $190 million of its trading funds due to arguably avoidable scams, according to a former engineer at the firm.
In an Oct. 12 post to X, titled “The Hacks,” former Alameda Research engineer turned whistleblower Aditya Baridwaj claims that the firm’s “breathtaking” agility led to “major security incidents” as often as every few months.
Incident #1:
An Alameda trader got phished while trying to complete a DeFi transaction by accidentally clicking a fake link that had been promoted to the top of Google Search results
Cost: $100M+
Postmortem: Implemented extra checks on our internal wallet software
— Adi (e/acc) (@aditya_baradwaj) October 11, 2023
In an example of one of the biggest exploits, Baridwaj claims a trader at Alameda once lost more than $100 million of the firm’s funds after clicking a malicious link promoted to the top of Google Search results.
The trader was attempting to sign off on a DeFi transaction, said Baridwaj.
In another example, he said Alameda was yield farming on a new blockchain of “questionable legitimacy” — a move that saw the trading firm eventually rack up losses of more than $40 million.
Baradwaj wrote that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried believed that the “single most important thing” for Alameda and FTX was their ability to move quickly. This ethos led to Alameda routinely ignoring industry-standard engineering and accounting practices for such firms, he said.
“This meant virtually no code testing and incomplete balance accounting. Safety checks for trading would only be added on an as-needed basis,” wrote Baradwaj.
“Blockchain private keys and exchange API keys were stored in plaintext in a file that several employees could access.”
This led to another security incident that cost the firm millions after an old version of the plaintext files containing keys to Alameda’s wallets were leaked.
The attacker transferred funds out of “some exchanges” and the incurred losses tallied up to more than $50 million, explained Baradwaj.
These are just a few incidents - there's many more, including from before my time at the company.
FTX had its own issues, including the MobileCoin fiasco that Gary recently testified about during the trial.
— Adi (e/acc) (@aditya_baradwaj) October 11, 2023
He said that Alameda suffered through “many more” incidents of similar scope to the ones he’d described, but many of these were before his time at the company.
Related: Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried trial [Day 6] — Latest updates
The former engineer has been speaking publicly about the many faults of Alameda and FTX in the wake of their collapse in November last year, telling Cointelegraph how its founder Sam Bankman-Fried justified many of his “ridiculous” actionsunder the guise of an idealistic philosophy known as Effective Altruism.
Baradwaj’s comments come amid former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison taking the stand to testify against Bankman-Friedon the sixth day of his fraud trial. In the preceding days, a number of former colleagues including Adam Yedidia and Gary Wang have brought a wealth of new evidence against the former billionaire.
Wang has admitted to writing in specific code that allowed for Alameda to tradewith a near-unlimited line of credit from FTX, while Caroline Ellison has explained the intricate details of FTX’s alleged comminglingof funds with Alameda.
Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to the charges brought against himand maintains his innocence in the ongoing trial.
Magazine: ‘AI has killed the industry’ — EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change
A Saudi Prince, Chinese Government Officials, and Thai Prostitutes: Former Alameda Research CEO’s Damning Testimony Continues against Sam Bankman-FriedA Saudi Prince, Chinese Government Officials, and Thai Prostitutes: Former Alameda Research CEO’s Damning Testimony Continues against Sam Bankman-Fried
Caroline Ellison, former Alameda Research CEO and ex-girlfriend of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, stunned the jury today in Manhattan Federal Court when she revealed startling claims involving Alameda Research’s ties to international government officials.
Taking the stand for the first time yesterday, Ellison admitted to falsifying a number of balance sheets to make investing in the crypto hedge fund seem “less risky than it was and to hide the fact we were borrowing tens of billions of dollars from FTX customers.”
"I knew it was wrong"
Testifying under a cooperation agreement with the US government,Ellison appeared to be remorseful, calling her actions “wrong.”
Moreover, the former Alameda CEO said that she had been left in “a constant of dread” in the lead-up to FTX’s collapse. By 2022, Alameda Research’s total assets, which were mostly illiquid, totaled $21 billion, while their liabilities were estimated at over $14 billion.
Ellison testified that she and Bankman-Fried predicted and analyzed a number of “bad market scenarios” that could tank their crypto empire.
At one point, Ellison calculated there was 100% probability they would not be able to repay their loans should the crypto market experience a downturn while they attempted large venture investments. Nonetheless, Bankman-Fried charged on, instructing Ellison to repay their loans using customers’ funds on FTX.
“Every day, I was worrying about the possibility of customer withdrawals and worried about this getting as well as who it would it hurt,” she stated.
Bankman-Fried tried to raise FTX funds while utilizing discreet messaging
With little remaining sources of capital left, Ellison recalled Bankman-Fried attempting to raise funds for his company by selling shares to the Crown Prince of Saudia Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. However, these attempts ultimately proved futile.
Ellison further alleged that Bankman-Fried was concerned about the subject matter of his employees’ conversations coming back to haunt him, even going so far as enabling an automatic deletion feature on their company’s end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, Signal. “Sensitive conversations were saved for Signal, in-person, or not at all,” Ellison added.
Moreover, she testified that Bankman-Fried instructed that company communication should “The New York Times Test,” meaning employees should only communicate information they would be comfortable reading as a headline in the newspaper.
Bankman-Fried bribed Chinese government officials
However, one of the most damning pieces of evidence came when Ellison recalled Bankman-Fried bribing Chinese government officials to unlock Alameda’s frozen trading accounts. These accounts were held on exchanges called OKX and Huobi, with those belonging to Alameda Research holding over $1 billion in assets.
According to Ellison, their bribery came as a last resort after hiring a lawyer who failed to negotiate with several Chinese officials. Following this, they unsuccessfully attempted to use the trading accounts of several Thai prostitutes in order to unlock their funds.
When a trader for Alameda Research attempted to dissuade Bankman-Fried from bribing the Chinese government, the fallen “King of Crypto” yelled at her to “shut the f–k up!”
Bankman-Fried sat silent in the courtroom, resting his hand slightly over his mouth. Ellison remained somewhat hunched as she calmly continued her testimony.
After a detailed review of Alameda Research’s financial documents, the prosecution announced they were submitting one last balance sheet into evidence.
“Microsoft stock must be plunging then,” Kaplan joked.
Having pled guilty to seven different fraud charges, Ellison is expected to finish her time on the stand this week. It is currently unclear if Bankman-Fried will testify in his own defense.Alameda Research 前 CEO：SBF 指使她犯下罪行深潮 TechFlow 消息，10月11日消息，据CoinDesk报道，Alameda Research前CEO Caroline Ellison在法庭证词中表示，FTX创始人SBF指使她犯下罪行。Alameda从FTX客户那里拿走了数十亿美元，并将其用于自己的投资并偿还贷方。Ellison还谈到了Alameda借用FTX客户资金的问题。她表示，SBF说“要使用FTX资金，但要把钱留在FTX上”，以满足客户的提款要求。这些资金中有很大一部分用于向SBF核心圈子的成员发放贷款，还有一些资金用于“投资和政治捐赠”。即使在被任命为Alameda Research首席执行官之后，Ellison也要向SBF汇报工作，且最终都会听从SBF的意见。SBF的野心是成为美国总统，他对政治“非常感兴趣”，并谈到想用自己的钱来施加政治影响力。
Ellison还在法庭中作证称，FTX和Alameda最初由同一团队运营。Ellison表示，在FTX成立之初，加密交易所很难获得银行账户，Alameda在其银行账户中接收FTX客户的资金。这种安排一直持续到2022年，当时FTX客户被转移到FTX单独的银行账户中。 在FTX和Alameda倒闭之前，SBF和Ellison曾公开表示，两家公司完全独立，Alameda对FTX没有任何特权。
此外，Ellison在法庭中对法官表示，她的年薪达到20万美元，还在2021年获得了2000万美元的奖金。 法官询问她是否拥有Alameda的股权，Ellison回应称没有，但她拥有FTX 0.5%的股权。
Coinbase Director Flags Alameda Research for Minting Nearly $40 Billion USDT in 2021Coinbase Director Flags Alameda Research for Minting Nearly $40 Billion USDT in 2021
Coinbase director Conor Grogan highlights Alameda Research's extensive involvement in minting nearly $40 billion USDT in 2021.
Image by Timon, Adobe Stock
Today, Conor Grogan, a director at Coinbase, brought attention to Alameda Research's actions concerning the Tether (USDT) stablecoin. According to blockchain data analyzed by Grogan, Alameda Research minted upwards of $39.55 billion in USDT throughout 2021, despite lacking equivalent assets under management.
Alameda Research and The USDT Conundrum
The sheer scale of USDT minted by Alameda Research raises questions, especially considering the value of created USDT exceeded the firm's total assets during 2021's cryptocurrency bull run. This practice seemingly contradicts the principle of stablecoins being backed by equivalent assets.
Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange is closely related to Alameda Research. Grogan suggested that a significant portion of USDT redemptions ordered by FTX was likely sourced from Alameda's minted tokens. Approximately $3.9 billion USDT was redeemed, much of it during the collapse of Terra's algorithmic stablecoin.
Profiting from Arbitrage: Sam Trabucco's Perspective
In January 2021, Sam Trabucco, former co-CEO of Alameda Research, provided insights into how the firm took advantage of arbitrage opportunitiesrelated to USDT. Trabucco stated that the value of USDT compared to $1 could be volatile, particularly with regard to Bitcoin-to-USDT trades.
“And note, theseare the best markets to use to determine where USDT is trading — the combo of BTC/USDT and BTC/USD markets, e.g., are WAY more liquid than any exchange’s USDT/USD market, so the prices from these (even though its a two-leg trade) matter way more,” Trabucco tweeted in 2021.
Trabucco explained that Alameda Research had the capability to "safely put on big bets" due to its ability to mint and redeem USDT as needed. He described the situation as a "win-win" for both Alameda and the stability of USDT.
The Debate Over USDT's Stability
Grogan's revelation adds another layer to the ongoing debate about the true stability of USDT. Sam Bankman-Fried also participated in discussions in 2021, stating that Alameda actively redeemed USDT for U.S. dollars.
Alameda's ability to influence USDT's dollar peg through arbitrage opportunities has implications for the broader crypto market.
Trabucco also highlighted the company's role in stabilizing USDT's value, stating, “Obviously we’re making money because we can, e.g., selling above where we create, but we’re also bringing the price in line so that when aggro buyers come in, it sticks close to $1.”
The disclosure by Coinbase's Conor Grogan about Alameda Research's extensive involvement in minting USDT invites scrutiny into the stablecoin's backing and stability.
While Alameda Research and its closely related exchange FTX have long been subjects of discussion, this new information may prompt market participants and regulators to reevaluate the mechanisms behind USDT's value.前Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison将于周二在Sam Bankman-Fried审判中作证来源：Coindesk
作者：Danny Nelson, Helene Braun, Elizabeth Napolitano
编译：Techub News-Barry
校对：Dan
Bankman-Fried的前高级副手Gary Wang作证说，Alameda在FTX中拥有“特权”，允许这家对冲基金使用交易所客户的80亿美元资金。
Caroline Ellison是对冲基金Alameda Research的前首席执行官，也是萨姆·班克曼-弗里德（Sam Bankman-Fried）分分合合的女友。 她很可能成为下一位代表政府出庭作证的证人，她将接替前FTX高管Gary Wang出庭作证。
周五早间庭审结束后，美国司法部说，FTX联合创始人、前首席技术官Wang的证词将于周二结束，检察官预计下一个证人将是埃里森。
和Gary Wang一样，Ellison去年12月也承认了多项欺诈指控。
法院将于周二美国东部时间上午9:30恢复开庭。
上周五，Alameda在FTX中的“特权身份”受到了严格审查，因为Bankman-Fried的前高级副手Wang作证说：Alameda在FTX拥有“特权”，这令这家加密对冲基金可以使用80亿美元的交易所客户资金。
与Bankman-Fried共同创立了这两家公司的Wang身穿不合身的黑色西装出庭作证，他说，2019年7月，在交易所开业后不久，Bankman-Fried指示他编写代码，让Alameda的FTX账户余额降至零以下。这名内部人士出身的政府证人表示，这是该加密货币交易所的其他客户没有的秘密功能。
Wang说“Sam告诉我要确保Alameda的账户永远不会在FTX上被清算”。
在Bankman-Fried的核心团队中，至少有三名证人对金融犯罪表示认罪，并在刑事审判中指证这位涉嫌欺诈的人，Wang是第一个，Ellison将是第二位。
Wang他在证词中向陪审员介绍了公司复杂的财务情况，以便于政府指控这两家公司从FTX客户那里窃取了数十亿美元。Wang在周五表示，在FTX于2019年成立几个月后，他为Alameda账户指定了“允许负等于零”的代码。他说，Bankman-Fried下令编写代码，这样对冲基金就可以把钱花在FTX的原生货币FTT上。
“Sam说他想用Alameda账户支付与FTT相关的费用，”Wang说。此外，Alameda的支出越来越多，而且从未停止过。更令人震惊的是，Wang作证说，在Alameda欠FTX 110亿美元左右的时候，FTX只有大约15亿美元的营收。最初，Alameda的“特权”只能在FTX的收入允许的范围内拿走尽可能多的钱。当他看到超过这个数额时，他很“惊讶”，并多次与Bankman-Fried讨论此事。
“我相信了他的判断”Wang回忆说。
当检察官问他当时是否认为剩余资金来自FTX客户时，Wang否认了这个问题。
“为什么?”检察官问道。
“这些钱属于客户，他们没有允许我们把他们的资金用于其他事情。”Wang说。
在上午晚些时候休息之前，检察官向Wang提出了一系列关于FTX“后备基金”的问题，该基金是交易所据称拥有的应急基金。王作证说，FTX在其网站上显示了后备基金的美元金额，但这个数字是不基于任何真实的东西。后备基金的实际金额比显示的要低。他声称，显示数字是通过一个没有现实基础的公式计算出来的。
检察官提到了Wang在周四早些时候的证词中提到的信贷额度。
Wang说，在FTX任职期间，应Bankman-Fried的要求，他多次提高了Alameda的信贷额度，因为做市商需要提高这一额度才能继续下单。最初，信用额度为10亿美元。“我们选了一个永远不会达到的额度”引起了法庭的笑声。
最终，限额增加到650亿美元。此举保证了Alameda在FTX上拥有几乎无限的信用额度。
检察官问Wang，Bankman-Fried对这个数字说了什么。“他说他没意见”王说。
随后，检察官向王询问了一系列有关Bankman-Fried提到的“韩国朋友”的问题，并拿出了与用户ID“seyouncharles”相关的一组账户的截图。王说，其中一个显示的电子邮件地址属于Alameda的子账户。
Wang说，该账户有负80亿美元的余额，不包括在主要的Alameda账户中，因此不包括在利息支付的计算中。
在法庭上
周五，Bankman-Fried的父母再次出庭。他的母亲身穿黑色西装，面无表情地坐在法庭的右侧，下巴紧绷着，专注地听着检察官一连串的提问。在作证过程中，她的目光从儿子身上移到证人身上，然后移到她的膝盖上，在那里她给丈夫写了一些便条。身穿灰色西装的父亲在听证会上保持着平静。
在陪审席上，气氛十分压抑。当Wang发言时，12名陪审员和6名候补陪审员中的一些人在他们的笔记本上潦草地写着，偶尔点头，而其他人则斜靠在座位上听证词。当一名政府律师和Wang交流加密货币术语时，一名陪审员看起来很困惑。
辩护律师Mark Cohen在周五庭审开始时告诉法官，一名陪审员与Bankman-Fried的一名律师同乘电梯。法官向陪审员保证，如果他们在本案中对任何证人或律师说“早上好”，如果他们没有得到回应，他们不应该感到被冒犯。据The Block报道，BlockFi首席执行官Zac Prince在SBF审判中作证，将BlockFi的破产归咎于FTX和Alameda Research。 他表示如果知道有人使用虚假的资产负债表，他绝不会发放贷款。 Prince告诉检察官，BlockFi在FTX交易所的资产总额为11亿美元。BlockFi收回了部分贷款，但仍有6.5亿美元未偿还。
