Alameda Research Sues Blockchain Founder of Waves

Alameda Research, now bankrupt, has filed a legal suit seeking over $90 million from Alexander Ivanov, the founder of the Waves blockchain.

The lawsuit filed on Sunday details Alameda’s effort to reclaim assets it had previously invested in Vires.Finance, a decentralized liquidity platform on the Waves blockchain.

Alameda Research’s Lawsuit Against Alexander Ivanov (Waves). Source: The United States Bankruptcy Court

Alameda Research, the trading arm of the crypto exchange FTX, was established by Sam Bankman-Fried in September 2017. By November 2022, both of SBF’s enterprises faced insolvency and filed for bankruptcy. Later, it was revealed that FTX had lent Alameda more than half of its clients’ funds, which was explicitly prohibited by FTX’s terms of service.

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Founded in 2016 by Ukrainian-American entrepreneur Sasha Ivanov, the Waves platform facilitates the creation, issuance, management, and trading of cryptocurrency tokens. It empowers users to launch their own digital tokens without the need for extensive blockchain expertise.

According to the lawsuit, Alameda deposited approximately $80 million in stablecoins USDT and USDC on Vires in March 2022. These deposits were allegedly converted into USDN, a stablecoin associated with the Waves ecosystem.

Vires.Finance encouraged asset deposits by offering users rewards and governance privileges in its DAO. Alameda, however, alleges that Ivanov manipulated the system for personal advantage.

The lawsuit filed by Alameda accuses Ivanov of artificially inflating the value of WAVES tokens through a series of unreported transactions while withdrawing assets from Vires.Finance.

Related: FTX Estate to Auction 22.3 Million Worldcoin Tokens

FTX's legal actions form part of its comprehensive strategy to retrieve funds for creditors after the platform's downfall. Over the past few days, the exchange has initiated more than 20 lawsuits against various individuals, including prominent names like SkyBridge Capital's CEO Anthony Scaramucci, Deltec Bank's Chairman Jean Chalopin, and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Waves' Annual Price Trend Analysis. Source: CoinMarketCap

The price trajectory of Waves over the long term has positioned it as a “troubled asset,” largely unaffected by the bullish sentiment prevailing after Donald Trump's election win.

In the last 24 hours, the price has edged up slightly from $1.13 to $1.15. The token’s market capitalization is approximately $133.63 million. Binance halted trading for all WAVES spot pairs in June 2024, causing the token’s price to plunge nearly 30%.