In response to the present crypto bear market, FTX’s investment arm has reportedly merged with Alameda Research for venture capital operations.
In an interview, Caroline Ellison of Alameda Research indicated that the merger had already taken place before Sam Trabucco, the company’s previous co-CEO, announced his retirement on Wednesday.
This left Ellison as the only CEO of the company, according to a Thursday Bloomberg story. When FTX Ventures, the cryptocurrency exchange’s investment division, purportedly started absorbing Alameda in January, it had $2 billion in assets under management.
According to reports, Alameda’s investment arm was wholly under FTX Ventures, and the two entities operated independently from one another and the cryptocurrency exchange.
Amy Wu, who oversees the venture capital fund, reportedly denied that any payments were received as part of the agreement. Wu claimed that the two businesses continued to operate “arm’s length” and that the Alameda team was not “working too much on the venture side day-to-day.”
As part of its bankruptcy procedures, Voyager Digital turned down a joint offer from FTX and Alameda in July to buy out its crypto assets and outstanding loans.
At the time, the company’s legal department warned that the proposed acquisition would “damage customers.” Alameda has made its own contributions, such as supporting the cryptocurrency custody company Anchorage Digital.
According to reports, Ellison stated Alameda would keep in mind providing bailouts to cryptocurrency companies struggling with liquidity during a down market. “It would be more vital to attempt to help them,” she continued, “the more systemically significant someone is.”
