Nexo-labeled address withdraws $153M in Wrapped BTC from MakerDAO

Disclaimer: This article has been updated to reflect Nexo’s response stating that the fund transfer represents an operational transfer, involving the move of funds from one Nexo address to another.

Just a few days after market analysts predicted a 50% drop in NEXO price due to regulatory pressure and investor concerns, a crypto wallet address labeled as NEXO 0x8fd withdrew 7,758.8 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) — roughly worth $153M — from MakerDAO.

On Sept. 26, regulators from eight U.S. states filed a cease-and-desist order against Nexo under the allegations of offering unregistered securities to investors without warning. Moreover, Kentucky regulators accused Nexo of insolvency owing to liabilities exceeding assets when excluding Nexo.

Following suit, on Sept. 30, blockchain investigator Peckshield alerted the transfer of 7,758.8 WBTC from MakerDAO. One of the main reasons the crypto community chose to link the funds’ withdrawal with Nexo’s insolvency rumors is the name of the wallet — Nexo: 0x8fd.

As shown above, the total value locked (TVL) on MakerDAO has suffered a decline of 43.3% over the past year, which currently stands at $7.11 billion.

Transaction details show the transfer of DAI tokens worth $50.1 million from Nexo: 0x8fd to a null address (possibly a burn address) via DSProxy. As highlighted in the above screenshot, the transaction hash also confirms the transfer of $153.2 million in WBTC.

Wish I had seen celsius moving funds before freezing my account … make your own mind up what this means https://t.co/JuQ2fXJIuS

— cryptochicca.eth (@CryptoChicca) September 30, 2022

While the crypto community suspects wrongdoing, Nexo spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the funds remain in the publicly tagged Nexo wallet, adding that:

This routine transaction made yesterday represents a loan repayment in line with the latest market dynamics and as per the company’s standard treasury management.

Cointelegraph was also informed that the cited transaction was driven by Nexo’s operational needs at the time. “As a result, and again driven by the current market context, we expect the loan size at Maker to continue to fluctuate in correlation with market volatility,” concluded the Nexo spokesperson.

Related: Nexo ‘surprised’ by state regulators’ actions, says co-founder

Despite the ongoing FUD, Nexo continues to broaden its business. Most recently, on Sept. 27, Nexo purchased a stake in Hulett Bancorp, a holding company that owns a federally chartered Summit National Bank.

The acquisition allows Nexo and its customers to open bank accounts with Summit National Bank. In addition, Nexo’s retail and institutional clients based out of the US will get access to asset-back loans, card products, and escrow and custodial solutions offered through Summit.