US Government Moves $768,000 Seized FTX Tokens, Sparks Chainlink Sell-Off Fears
A pockets tied to US authorities seized FTX Chainlink holdings moved 98,590 Chainlink (LINK) tokens, price about $768,000, to Coinbase Prime on Wednesday, reviving hypothesis over a possible sale.
Blockchain trackers flagged the deposit inside minutes. However, on-chain knowledge alone doesn’t verify that the tokens are headed for the open market.
Why the Seized FTX Chainlink Transfer Matters
On-chain tracker Lookonchain first reported the motion, and monitoring account Solid Intel flagged the identical deposit.
Arkham labels the sending deal with beneath its US authorities entity and has documented earlier actions from the identical cluster.
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The funds originate from belongings confiscated after FTX and Alameda Research collapsed in November 2022.
A federal decide later ordered Sam Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11 billion after his fraud conviction, with recovered funds directed towards sufferer compensation.
The US Marshals Service chosen Coinbase Prime in July 2024 to custody and commerce its large-cap digital belongings.
“After a complete course of, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), a division of the U.S. Department of Justice, chosen Coinbase Prime as its accomplice to safeguard and commerce its “Class 1” (giant cap) digital belongings,” read an excerpt in a 2024 Coinbase weblog.
Therefore, deposits to the platform typically precede custody adjustments, over-the-counter offers, or liquidations.
The company has managed seized crypto gross sales for over a decade, starting with its auction of 30,000 Silk Road bitcoins in 2014.
Historically, it has favored structured gross sales over open-market dumps.
The transaction additionally extends a sample of earlier seized altcoin transfers involving Uniswap (UNI), Render (RNDR), Ethereum (ETH), and The Sandbox (SAND), plus stablecoins.
Meanwhile, the FTX property retains repaying prospects, with its fourth creditor distribution round delivering $2.2 billion in March.
Analysts See Limited Risk of a LINK Sell-Off
Chainlink’s present value sits close to $7.66, down 2% over the previous 24 hours. The token holds a $5.57 billion market cap and ranks twenty first amongst cryptocurrencies.
The transferred quantity equals lower than 0.4% of LINK’s $225 million every day buying and selling quantity. It additionally represents roughly 0.01% of the 727 million tokens in circulation.
Consequently, even an outright sale would barely transfer market liquidity.
Sentiment across the token stays cautious after a 27% slide over the previous 30 days. LINK has additionally shed 49% over the previous 12 months, leaving holders alert to new provide alerts.
In distinction, Chainlink’s ETF inflow outlook suggests institutional demand may soak up modest authorities provide over time.
Whether the tokens transfer to an over-the-counter desk or keep in custody ought to grow to be clearer within the coming days.
The pockets’s subsequent transaction will reveal whether or not the deposit marks routine administration or the beginning of a liquidation.
Until then, the sell-off fears look bigger than the numbers behind them.
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