According to Lucas Nuzzi, head of research at CoinMetrics, FTX may have minted Serum (SRM) out of thin air to shore up its balance sheet, with the total supply of SRM increasing by 60% this year through two large mints.
None of this has been disclosed before, based on currently available information. The first mint is 50 million SRM on February 19, and the second mint is 50 million SRM on May 25.
It was previously reported that FTX valued its SRM position at $2.2 billion, the largest position on its balance sheet. Serum has a market cap of less than $88 million, so they are likely to use a higher SRM price for valuation, which may be illegal.