SBF and Alameda step in to prevent crypto collapse contagion

cointelegraph.com:

Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) Alameda Research is “stepping in” to prevent further contagion across the crypto sector during the current bear market.

Numerous crypto companies are facing liquidity issues (of varying severity) as a result of the strong market downturn throughout 2022. Major firms such as Celsius and Three Arrows Capital (3AC) are both reportedly on the brink of insolvency, and could potentially bring others down with them if they were to collapse.

During an interview with NPR on June 19, SBF stated that given the stature of his companies Alameda and FTX, he believes they “have a responsibility to seriously consider stepping in, even if it is at a loss to ourselves, to stem contagion.”

SBF added that his companies have done this “a number of times in the past” as he pointed to FTX providing Japanese crypto exchange Liquid with $120 million in financing last year after it was $100 million in August. Notably, FTX announced plans to acquire Liquid shortly after providing it with funding, and the deal reportedly closed in March this year.

"We, I think about 24 hours later, stepped in and gave them a pretty broad line of credit to be able to cover all of their demands, to make sure customers were made whole while thinking about the longer-term solution," he said.

Most recently, however, crypto brokerage Voyager Digital announced on June 18 that Alameda had agreed to give the company a 200 million USDC loan and “revolving line of credit” of 15,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $298.9 million at current prices.

Voyager Digital noted that its credit facilities offered by Alameda will each expire on Dec. 31 2024 and have an annual interest rate of 5% payable on maturity. The firm stated it will only use the credit lines “if