Altcoin crash could be coming, warns Matrixport

The financial services and cryptocurrency platform Matrixport warned in its latest report about a possible “crash” of altcoins – alternative cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin – that could be coming.

As the organization pointed out, the “bankrupt” crypto exchange FTX may be about to dump a total of US$3.4 billion in cryptocurrencies onto the market. In other words, more than R$16.8 billion at the current exchange rate in reais.

This amount corresponds to the cryptoassets that FTX still holds. Its objective with the massive token sale is to obtain fiat currencies in order to reimburse customers injured by the company’s collapse in November last year and advance its judicial recovery process.

According to the Matrixport report, this eventual sale could create enormous pressure on altcoin prices for the rest of this year.

FTX’s plan is to sell $200 million worth of cryptocurrencies per week. This means that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange will continue to sell assets until the end of 2023. The total amount includes holdings in FTT, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and, above all, Solana (SOL).

Additionally, Matrixport head of research Markus Thielen warned in the report that FTX is not the only major company selling altcoins on the market.

“Crypto venture capital (VC) funds are also under immense pressure to return funds to their investors,” Thielen wrote. “These venture capital funds will likely remain crucial sellers of altcoins and are expected to cash out.”

FTX may dump altcoins on the market

The announcement about the likely sale of assets by FTX dropped the price of Solana (SOL) by 11% on Monday (11), from US$97 to around US$86. In the last 24 hours the price of Solana has recovered partially and, at the time of writing this article, the altcoin is costing US$89, according to data from CoinGecko. But a huge dump of SOL into the market could see the altcoin extend losses.

On the other hand, FTX’s native token, FTT, rose with the exchange’s announcement of the sale of altcoins. In the last 24 hours, the crypto asset has appreciated by 6.5% and is currently costing US$5.20.

FTX holds $685 million in SOL, $529 million in FTT tokens, $268 million in BTC, and $90 million in ETH.