FTX estate wraps up second tranche of locked Solana sales with bids around $100

Quick Take

  • The FTX estate is completing a sale of more locked Solana tokens today, after it sold a much larger batch in March.
  • Successful bids were between $95 and $110 per token, sources tell The Block.

The FTX estate is finalizing its second tranche of sales of locked Solana SOL +4.89% tokens, with bids around the $100 mark going through, according to five sources.

The estate is offloading 1.8 million SOL ($232 million), according to one source, in an auction that has taken place over the last couple of weeks. The bids went through on April 25 with KYC procedures and paperwork due today, the sources said.

Bids for the locked Solana ranged from $85 to $110, three sources said, claiming that bids at $95 and above went through. Two sources were skeptical that bids as low as $85 made it through. A token price of $95 represents a 26% discount to current prices, while a price of $110 corresponds to a 15% discount.

Galaxy Trading was again raising money from investors to bid for a portion of the locked Solana tokens from the estate, two sources said. They noted that minimum investments were much higher this round, with the firm wanting to see at least $5 million in commitments from investors.

Pantera Capital purchased more locked Solana in the latest auction, according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the sale. Like the rest of the locked Solana on offer, the tokens are subject to a four-year vesting schedule.

Continued sales of locked Solana

The next auction will start on May 1, according to Figure Markets CEO Mike Cagney. Figure Markets is creating a special purpose vehicle to bid for the locked SOL in upcoming auctions. Its website says the investment vehicle is open to non-U.S. investors and accredited U.S. investors.

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Prior to the recent auction, the estate had a much larger sale in March, where locked tokens were sold for $64 a piece to bidders such as Galaxy Trading and Pantera. Demand was so high at the time that allocations to investors in Galaxy Trading's syndicate had to be reduced. The size of the overall sale, Bloomberg reported, was around two-thirds of the estate's 41 million Solana holdings.

With the latest auctions fetching even higher prices, it appears the strong demand for the cryptocurrency has not waned.

Galaxy Asset Management, which is handling the sales of the locked Solana on behalf of the FTX estate, declined to comment. The FTX estate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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About Author

Tim is the Editor-In-Chief of The Block. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He has earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.

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