As a seasoned researcher with a keen eye for detail and a knack for untangling financial intricacies, I find myself increasingly intrigued by the expanding legal battles within the crypto sphere. The latest development – Alameda’s lawsuit against Aleksandr Ivanov – is a fascinating case of alleged manipulation, extortion, and asset freezing, all set against the backdrop of the FTX bankruptcy.


In simpler terms, Alameda Research, which is the trading division linked to the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has taken legal action against Aleksandr Ivanov, the creator of the Waves blockchain platform, along with associated companies.

On November 10th, court documents showed that Alameda is aiming to recover over $90 million, which they claim rightfully belongs to their firm and the debtors in the FTX bankruptcy case. Previously, Alameda had placed these assets with Vires.Finance, a liquidity platform on the Waves network.

Alameda Seeks Asset Recovery of $90M

In March 2022, Alameda moved approximately $80 million worth of stablecoins USDT and USDC to Vires. This amount was then converted into around $90 million in USDN. The filing indicates that users on Vires were encouraged to deposit funds onto the Waves blockchain via Vires, where they could earn rewards, accumulate interest, and exercise governance rights within the Vires Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).

As per Alameda’s claims, Ivanov marketed Waves and Vires as lucrative investment prospects for individuals, but it is suspected that he artificially inflated the worth of WAVES through a sequence of hidden transactions and diverted funds from Vires. When this deception started to be exposed, WAVES suffered a catastrophic loss of over 95% of its value, leading to approximately $530 million in losses for Vires users.

The filing further alleges that Ivanov publicly accused the trading firm of destabilizing the Waves ecosystem to deflect the blame. Privately, the exec attempted to extort Alameda, threatening to freeze its assets if it didn’t support Vires, the court document revealed.

Following Alameda’s rejection, Ivanov employed his authority over the Vires DAO to halt withdrawals of its resources, transforming them into USDN. Additionally, Ivanov attempted to negotiate with Alameda by offering access to fiat assets if they complied, but Alameda chose not to agree.

Although Ivanov pledged to collaborate, he only attended one meeting and disregarded all subsequent attempts at contact. In 2023, Ivanov declared that the organizations overseeing Waves and Vires had been dissolved, leading Alameda to pursue asset recovery and compensation for alleged fraud and misappropriation.

FTX Legal Battle Expands to Binance and CZ

Over the recent span of a few days, I’ve been involved in documenting actions taken by the FTX estate. They have initiated multiple lawsuits against diverse entities with the aim of recovering funds for their creditors. Among those named are notable figures such as Anthony Scaramucci, the CEO of SkyBridge Capital and a former official within the Trump administration, alongside others.

Lately, FTX has taken legal action against Binance and its previous CEO, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao. Their recent lawsuit aims to recoup a sum of approximately $1.8 billion, alleging that the transfer was fraudulent and carried out by FTX’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.

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2024-11-12 02:04