Casey Wagner


<p>The collateral damage caused by Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall continued Wednesday as tokens the disgraced FTX founder has backed slid further.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here’s what’s going on with four major Bankman-Fried-backed projects and their related digital assets, including FTX’s own native token, FTT, as the former chief executive of the crypto exchange awaits trial — <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sbf-released-on-bond" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">out on bail</a> and living with his parents in California.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/12291300/embed#?secret=IDYLEjqQzp" data-secret="IDYLEjqQzp" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="575" width="700"></iframe>
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Blockworks Graphic by David Canellis</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SOL&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Bankman-Fried was a main backer of the smart contracts-focused protocol Solana, whose native token, SOL, is down almost 95% against the dollar year-to-date. FTX had purchased more than 58 million SOL tokens from the Solana Foundation and Solana Labs starting in August 2020, according to the now-bankrupt exchange.&nbsp;</p>



<p>SOL lost as much as 12% on Wednesday as traders fretted over large holders selling positions. The token is down almost 65% over the past three months versus bitcoin.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SRM</h3>



<p>SRM, the protocol Serum’s native token, was a large position on Alameda Research’s <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/02/divisions-in-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-empire-blur-on-his-trading-titan-alamedas-balance-sheet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">balance shee</a>t, valued at $2.2 billion before the proprietary trading firm’s collapse. The company minted a cumulative 100 million SRM between February and May 2022, increasing the token’s total supply by some 60%.&nbsp;</p>



<p>SRM is down more than 96% against the dollar this year — and dropped nearly 5% by early Wednesday afternoon in New York alone before clawing back losses. Compared to bitcoin, the token was down more than 15% over the past week and 33% over the past 3 months.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">REN<strong>&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Formerly known as Republic Protocol, Ren said in February 2021 that it was “joining” Alameda in a vague <a href="https://medium.com/renproject/ren-alameda-90a8f471b323" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a> written by founder Taiyang Zhang.</p>



<p>“In addition to this renewed focus, the Ren team will also be working with Alameda to continue development on its top-priority: reaching the next phase of [decentralization],” Zhang said at the time.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The platform, which issues wrapped bitcoin, known as renBTC, said earlier this month it was attempting a redesign, <a href="https://medium.com/renproject/introducing-ren-2-0-43025b3d5d6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ren 2.0</a> in the wake of the FTX crash. Minting has been disabled and burning was closed out Dec. 20 ahead of the launch — which focuses on increasing decentralization and security, the company said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The token was down more than 40% relative to the dollar over the last three months— and more than 33% in relation to bitcoin. REN has booked a slight rebound this week, though, with the coin rallying about 5.5% over the past seven days.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">FTT<strong>&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>FTX’s native FTT token held a prominent position on Alameda’s balance sheet, which contributed to November’s mass sell-off as investors parsed emerging details of the relationship between Bankman-Fried’s prop trading firm and his exchange.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The token is now down about 95% over the past three months. Last week, it dipped below $1 for the first time — and has remained there since. FTT was sitting around $0.89 Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;<br>FTX, now proceeding with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, is now also up against SEC scrutiny: The regulator <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-ftt-complaint-is-yet-another-case-of-regulation-by-enforcement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deemed FTT a security</a> in a December filing.</p>


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