- Given market interest and recent price gains, FTX Estate switches to auctioning locked Solana tokens.
- Figure Markets plans to launch an SPV for investor involvement, indicating confidence in the Solana market despite short-term adverse conditions.
After receiving a lot of interest from buyers, the FTX estate has revealed that it will be auctioning off its next batch of locked Solana (SOL) tokens. Due to the current unpredictable market conditions and the substantial value of the holdings, this move represents a departure from prior direct sales techniques.
Announcement of Auction: FTX’s Strategic Turnabout
In the past, FTX had been able to offload Solana tokens worth $1.9 billion to significant industry participants, including Galaxy Digital and Pantera Capital.
The latter has demonstrated strong faith in spite of market volatility by raising enough money to obtain a sizeable $250 million allocation for Solana, as previously reported by ETHNews.
The CEO of Figure, Mike Cagney, claims that the purpose of the next auction is to take advantage of this momentum, but he has not yet provided any information regarding the specific date or the format of the auction.
Just got confirmation that the next round of locked #solana coins from the #FTX estate will be an auction, with exact details coming Monday. If you want in, join us. https://t.co/RuA41vgWAx
— Mike Cagney (@mcagney) April 20, 2024
Price Performance and Investor Sentiment of Solana
The choice to convert to an auction system was made when there had been a few minor increases in the SOL price. According to CoinGecko data, Solana is currently trading at $153.93, up 1.70% over the past 24 hours but slightly down 0.34% over the past week.
Following an underwhelming performance following the halving, multiple analysts on X speculating on a possible near-term continuation of bearish trends for Solana.
The locked tokens have remained in the spotlight, making up the majority of FTX’s digital asset holdings at the time of its collapse. In sharp contrast to the increased prices of today, the estate received $2.6 billion from the prior sale of around two-thirds of FTX’s Solana hoard, for a nominal price of about $60.
Figure Markets’ Innovative Method
These locked tokens continue to be highly sought after, even in light of the unpredictable path taken by BTC values. Figure Markets, Cagney’s company, wants to make the auction more accessible to more people.
A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) intended for both accredited US investors and non-US investors is what they intend to create. FTX Creditor Activist Sunil Kavuri has applauded this action, indicating that important figures in the bitcoin community have an optimistic view.
S&C are adamant in selling FTX creditors locked Solana at a heavy discount to their own clients (Galaxy), despite our objections
I have spoken to @mcagney. He created a structure to allow retail FTX creditors to participate with a min. investment of $5000 vs. the $5m required… https://t.co/yut9Xub4O5
— Sunil (FTX Creditor Champion) (@sunil_trades) April 21, 2024
Notwithstanding the inherent risks connected with locked and illiquid assets, the FTX estate is making a strategic effort with the upcoming auction to manage and monetize its assets. This gives investors a chance to bet on the potential future price movements of Solana. You can watch this YouTube video to learn more about this development.