Top cryptos within the decentralized finance sector witnessed a strong sell-off late Sunday as the crypto arm of proprietary trading firm Jump Trading began moving millions of dollars to exchanges.
It follows crypto investors rushing to the exit, spooked by concerns stemming from economic and geopolitical headwinds, Decrypt reported.
Recessionary fears led to a substantial sell-off in U.S. equity markets on Friday, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3% in June, triggering global market declines, including a 5.5% drop in Japan’s Nikkei 225.
Bitcoin and Ethereum dipped 10% and 20%, respectively, as investors moved $780 million out of long positions, indicating a shift towards safer assets like bonds amid ongoing growth concerns, Decrypt was told.
The values of Maker, Lido DAO, UniSwap, Aave, and Chainlink were some of the most affected within the top 100 tokens by market capitalization.
The majority in that category have fallen between 18% and 23%, marking their worst single-day performance since April, CoinGecko data shows.
It follows moves by Jump Crypto on Sunday, which began shuffling tens of millions of dollars in USDC, USDT, and Ethereum between cold wallets it controls and crypto exchanges, data from blockchain data firm Arhkham Intelligence show.
Exchanges being tagged as part of the move include Coinbase, Gate.io, and Binance. It is unclear whether Jump Crypto intends to or already has liquidated some of the $243 million in crypto it holds.
The firm did not immediately return a request for comment.
The high-frequency trading firm has several ties to the DeFi sector, including once upon a time as an active market participant and liquidity provider on Serum, a decentralized exchange hosted on the Solana blockchain.
It was also once a steward overseeing development in the cross-chain DeFi bridge Wormhole. That was upended in November of last year following a major exploit that saw Jump fill a $320 million hole 19 months prior.
Jump Crypto, a subsidiary of Jump Trading, has faced legal challenges related to its involvement in the collapse of TerraUSD and the Terra ecosystem back in May 2022.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Jump Crypto for its alleged role in manipulating the price of UST, leading to approximately $1.3 billion in profits for the company and its CEO, Kanav Kariya.
The allegations are part of the broader SEC case against Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, who is accused of conducting a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities scam.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also currently investigating Jump Crypto for its trading and investment activities in the market.
While the investigation does not imply any wrongdoing, it does add to the regulatory scrutiny faced by the Chicago-based firm.
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