Blockchain analysis firm: Alameda involved in insider trading, always accumulating positions on FTX before listing?

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Blockchain analysis firm: Alameda involved in insider trading, always accumulating positions on FTX before listing?

The FTX incident continues to smolder, with various parties frantically digging for insider information. The latest news indicates that Alameda Research is involved in insider trading, but based on the leaked content, concrete evidence to substantiate the claim is completely lacking.

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Alameda Insider Trading?

The Wall Street Journal reported, based on the analysis report from blockchain intelligence firm Argus, that Alameda established significant positions before specific tokens were listed on FTX.

FTX listed 60 ERC20 tokens from early 2021 to March of this year, during which Alameda held tokens worth around $60 million, with 18 of them being related to the listed tokens.

Omar Amjad, co-founder of Argus, stated:

What we're seeing is that Alameda almost always buys tokens they've never held about a month before, so they clearly know what's coming in the market next.

Additionally, Owen Rapaport, CEO of Argus, told The Block:

Because some trades are done off-chain, we can't conclude that Alameda massively sells after tokens are listed. However, considering they only hold the tokens right before the listing, it doesn't seem coincidental.

Evidently, Argus's research report is highly speculative, and foreign media outlet Wu Blockchain also believes that Argus's allegations may not necessarily be true:

Alameda has always been involved in quantitative arbitrage and market making, it might not be insider trading. Insider trading involving on-chain transactions is also easily traceable.