It’s no secret that the collapse of crypto exchange FTX – and the behavior of disgraced former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried – has catapulted most of the crypto market into the sun. And the coins most closely associated with Bankman-Fried are unsurprisingly being hit the hardest.
Such coins – including FTX Exchange Token (FTT), Solana (SOL), Serum (SRM), Maps.me (MAPS) and Oxygen (OXY) – have been dubbed “Sam Coins” for obvious reasons: most came from projects endorsed or created by Bankman-Fried, FTX, or Alameda Research, the trading company also founded by Bankman-Fried.
“It’s pretty clear that the failure of FTX has led to a surge in risk aversion, with investors rushing out like a herd of wildebeest to offload as much risk as possible, any way they can – including the surge in self-custody. ” Ryan Shea, crypto economist at Trakx, tells Fortune.
According to CoinGecko, the FTT is down 95% in the last 30 days. It is currently trading at around $1.29, down 98% from its September 2021 all-time high of $84.
FTT, which appears to have been abused by Bankman-Fried and Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, was at the heart of FTX’s collapse. Reports from CoinDesk revealed that Alameda had $3.66 billion in “unlocked FTT” and $2.16 billion in “FTT collateral” on its balance sheet as of June 30. The crash, again, is unsurprising but devastating for investors.
SOL was another victim of the FTX-Alameda SBF mess. Solana, its ecosystem and tokens have been heavily endorsed by the three. The exchange alone held $982 million worth of SOL, according to an FTX balance sheet shared with investors just before the company filed for bankruptcy in November.
The cryptocurrency is down 58% over the past month and is now trading around $13.60.
But “SOL didn’t rely entirely on Alameda [and] FTX, despite being a significant supporter, and the market seems to be pricing this in as well,” said Nansen’s Andrew Thurman. “While certain projects are in limbo, the Solana ecosystem is already moving outside of Sam’s reach.”
SRM, the token for Serum, a Solana-based “decentralized” exchange created by Bankman-Fried, is down 69% over the past 30 days.
MAPS and OXY, the tokens for two DeFi projects in which Alameda has invested, fell 78% and 46%, respectively, over the same period.
“It is unclear whether any of these projects will continue to operate without the FTX [and] Alameda’s support, and their price action reflects that,” Thurman said. “The market is still sorting through the rubble here, trying to figure out how to value these assets after their biggest boosters collapsed.”
In addition to the “Sam Coins”, well-known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have also suffered. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $16,000 while Ether is around $1,275.
“The most visible manifestation of risk aversion,” Shea said, “is the collapse in crypto prices, with major tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum down 15-20%, meaning the crypto winter has been extended.”
“One thing that has weighed on sentiment – and will continue to weigh on it,” Shea added, “is the fact that people have no real idea where the ‘corpses are buried’ – I mean the companies, given the due.” crypto prices slump, either directly or indirectly have significant exposure to FTX and/or because they have engaged in similar practices.”
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