Alameda Research and FTX merge VC operations: Report

The investment arm of Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, has reportedly absorbed the venture capital operations of Alameda Research in response to the ongoing crypto bear market.

According to a Thursday Bloomberg report, Alameda's Caroline Ellison said in an interview that the merger had happened prior to former co-CEO Sam Trabucco announcing his resignation on Wednesday, leaving Ellison as the firm’s sole CEO. The investment arm of the crypto exchange, FTX Ventures, launched in January — when the absorption of Alameda reportedly began — with $2 billion in assets under management.

BREAKING: Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX and Alameda merged their VC operations as the billionaire copes with a prolonged crypto winter https://t.co/5bXiTHphzs pic.twitter.com/EYUSa2bItG— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) August 25, 2022

Amy Wu, who runs the VC fund, reportedly said there were no payments made as part of the deal, and Alameda’s investment arm was entirely under FTX Ventures, with the two operating independently from each other and the crypto exchange. According to Wu, the two firms were still running at “arm’s length,” with the Alameda team not “working too much on the venture side day-to-day.”

Related: SBF and Alameda step in to prevent crypto collapse contagion

In July, Voyager Digital rejected a joint offer from FTX and Alameda to buy out its crypto assets and outstanding loans as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. The firm’s legal team said, at the time, that the proposed acquisition could “harm customers.” Alameda has made its own offerings, including backing crypto custody firm Anchorage Digital.

Ellison reportedly said Alameda would consider continuing to offer bailouts to crypto firms hurting for liquidity amid a bear market. She added that “the more systemically important someone is, the more important it would be to try to support them.”