Illia Polosukhin, the new CEO of the NEAR Foundation and co-founder of Near Protocol, responded to the rumor that "Wintermute accused the NEAR Foundation of refusing to fulfill the 11.2 million USN redemption commitment involving FTX."
Polosukhin said that after USN became undercollateralized in late October 2022, the USN Protection Program (USNPP), operated by Aurora Borealis Ltd. (ABL), was established to protect affected individuals. In August 2023, nearly a year after the launch of USNPP, Wintermute acquired 11.2 million USN from the Alameda estate (bankruptcy consortium) and requested that they be exchanged for USDT. Wintermute’s redemption request is inconsistent with protecting affected individuals in the NEAR ecosystem. Wintermute's purchase of USN from Alameda also raises significant KYC/AML concerns, as the USN is of questionable origin, may be associated with illegal activity, and/or may be subject to future litigation or court orders. ABL exercised its discretion in accordance with the USNPP Terms of Use and rejected Wintermute's redemption request.
Polosukhin stated that Wintermute is trying to use USNPP for arbitrage to profit from the USN spread offered by the Alameda estate. The goal of the USNPP is to ensure that individuals who actively participate in the NEAR ecosystem are fully compensated and remain engaged. As a sophisticated market maker and investor, Wintermute’s desire to end arbitrage by purchasing distressed assets was inconsistent with the purposes of the USNPP, so ABL rejected Wintermute’s request.