Wintermute Seizes $3M Arbitrage Opportunity Amid FDUSD Depeg Concerns
Rebeca Moen Apr 04, 2025 10:02
Leading crypto market maker Wintermute has reportedly executed a profitable arbitrage strategy involving over $75 million worth of First Digital USD (FDUSD), following the stablecoin’s temporary depeg to $0.87 earlier this month.
Leading crypto market maker Wintermute has reportedly executed a profitable arbitrage strategy involving over $75 million worth of First Digital USD (FDUSD), following the stablecoin’s temporary depeg to $0.87 earlier this month.
On April 2, the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin FDUSD lost parity after Tron founder Justin Sun made public allegations questioning the solvency of its issuer, First Digital Labs. The claims caused significant market panic, briefly pushing FDUSD’s value well below its intended $1.00 peg.
Wintermute’s On-Chain Activity Signals Arbitrage Play
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain noted that Wintermute transferred 75 million FDUSD to First Digital within a day of the depeg. The firm is believed to have purchased discounted FDUSD tokens, possibly near $0.90, before redeeming them at face value—1:1 with the U.S. dollar—through First Digital’s redemption mechanism.
“They likely bought $FDUSD at a discount during the depeg and redeemed it 1:1 through First Digital—making a solid profit,” Lookonchain reported on X.
If accurate, the arbitrage trade could have netted Wintermute a profit exceeding $3 million, based on the assumed purchase price during the depeg.
FDUSD Stability and Market Response
Despite the turmoil, First Digital has strongly denied Sun’s insolvency claims, asserting that FDUSD remains fully backed and solvent. The company reaffirmed the token’s 1:1 redeemability with the U.S. dollar and accused Sun of spreading misinformation.
“Justin Sun’s baseless accusations won’t distract from Techteryx’s own failures—our stablecoin FDUSD remains fully backed and solvent,” First Digital said on April 3.
The firm also indicated plans to pursue legal action against Sun for what it called false bankruptcy allegations.
Stability Ratings and Broader Market Impact
FDUSD has previously been flagged for potential vulnerabilities. On March 19, S&P Global Ratings assigned it a stability score of 4, labeled as “constrained,” citing concerns over governance, regulation, liquidity, and asset transparency.
The depegging event also comes amid broader market volatility, with industry leaders pointing to systemic connections between crypto markets and traditional finance. Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy noted that recent market crashes have been influenced more by macroeconomic events—such as Trump’s tariffs and the DeepSeek financial crisis—than internal crypto mismanagement.
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