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Tag: sam bankman-fried defense

  • Sam Bankman-Fried’s Defense Breaks Down: Testifies To Issues Within FTX | Bitcoinist.com

    Sam Bankman-Fried’s Defense Breaks Down: Testifies To Issues Within FTX | Bitcoinist.com

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    The trial of the former CEO of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), continued on October 31, with the prosecution cross-examining the defendant. Despite the line of questioning from the prosecutor, SBF managed to spin his narrative on what went on at the crypto exchange. However, it remains to be seen if this will be enough to sway the jury. 

    Sam Bankman-Fried Says He Didn’t Know Much About The Bug 

    So far, the prosecution had been able to establish that Sam Bankman-Fried was in the know of everything that went on at the defunct crypto exchange and trading firm Alameda Research and, in fact, was the mastermind of all the illicit activities that went on there.

    With this in mind, the defendant was hell-bent on creating doubts in the minds of the jury members. While on cross-examination, the defendant feigned ignorance to some of the questions put forward by the federal prosecutor as to what went on at both companies.

    The prosecution asked the defendant if his employees had told him about the bug in the fiat account. In response, he stated that he only became aware because he overheard when they were talking about it. However, he was too preoccupied to deal with the situation at the time. 

    As to why he didn’t follow up on it, Sam Bankman-Fried stated that his employees had told him that they were working on it, and considering the amount of faith he had in them, he trusted them to handle it. He also alluded to how they worked as a team at the crypto exchange, and he wasn’t necessarily in charge of handling everything, as everyone had tasks delegated to them. 

    FTX Founder Feigns Ignorance To Happenings At Alameda

    While still on cross-examination, the FTX founder was asked about who made the trading decisions at Alameda, of which he suggested that he wasn’t aware of some of the things that went on in the firm despite being the CEO at the time.

    He was quick to point out that former associate and Alameda’s ex-CEO Caroline Ellison was the head of trading at the time the North Dimension account was set up. 

    The defendant, however, seemed to shoot himself in the leg when he stated that he believed that spending customers’ deposits “folded” into risk management. Probably to show good faith, he then stated that he was simply concerned about customers’ portfolios during his time as CEO of Alameda. 

    Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried also admitted that he “was paying attention but not as much” but as much as he should have as the CEO of FTX. From his testimony, it is evident that the defendant is simply trying to counter the statements of his former associates that he was totally in control of everything that went on in both companies. 

    The trial is set to continue on November 1, with the defense expected to close its case this week, after which the case will move on to rebuttals. The case is expected to come to a close by the end of next week, with a verdict from the jury coming soon after. 

    FTT bulls maintain dominance above $1.2 | Source: FTTUSDT on Tradingview.com

    Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview.com

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    Scott Matherson

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  • FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Admits Limited Cryptocurrency Knowledge During Fraud Trial | Bitcoinist.com

    FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Admits Limited Cryptocurrency Knowledge During Fraud Trial | Bitcoinist.com

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    During the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange, startling revelations have emerged regarding his understanding of cryptocurrency.

    FTX Co-Founder’s Shocking Testimony 

    According to live coverage of the trial by The Guardian, Bankman-Fried confessed to knowing “basically nothing” about cryptocurrency before launching FTX and its affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research. On the stand, Bankman-Fried admitted:

    I had absolutely no idea how they worked. I just knew they were things you could trade.

    According to the report, when Bankman-Fried teamed up with co-founder Gary Wang, who testified against him in the trial, they had no idea how to attract customers. 

    As for FTX’s collapse, US Attorney Mark Cohen’s questioning suggested that there was nothing particularly wrong with the exchange’s operations or Bankman-Fried’s business decisions.

    The attorney highlighted FTX’s terms of service, finalized in early to mid-2022, which included provisions allowing a client’s balance to be used to cover others’ losses in certain situations, such as futures trading.

    Bankman-Fried also discussed FTT, the cryptocurrency created by FTX. Its role in the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research cannot be overstated. Customers rushed to withdraw funds from FTX after reports revealed that Alameda’s loans heavily relied on FTT. 

    Per the report, Bankman-Fried portrayed FTT as a beneficial token for FTX users, providing account benefits if held. He explained the concept of “buy and burn,” where FTX used a portion of its weekly earnings to buy and eliminate FTT tokens, effectively giving value to FTT holders.

    Management Mistakes Admitted

    According to The Guardian, Throughout his testimony, Bankman-Fried attempted to portray the growth of his exchanges as a result of growing pains rather than intentional wrongdoing. 

    Bankman-Fried argued that borrowing from FTX was in line with the setup of the exchange and its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research. As long as the risk was managed and assets exceeded liabilities, they did not concern themselves with how users utilized funds/

    Furthermore, Bankman-Fried acknowledged making management mistakes, admitting that the lack of a dedicated risk management team was the most significant oversight. The defense sought to present Bankman-Fried as an overwhelmed math savant, mitigating allegations of criminal intent.

    As the trial unfolds, the question of whether Bankman-Fried is a crypto criminal mastermind or an unfortunate “math nerd” remains central. 

    While Bankman-Fried denies committing fraud, he acknowledges significant oversights. Bankman-Fried’s personal history, including his time at MIT and associations with FTX co-founder Gary Wang and exchange developer Adam Yedida, has also come under scrutiny during the trial. 

    FTT’s uptrend continues on the 4-hour chart. Source: FTTUSDT on TradingView.com

    As of the time of writing, the exchange’s token FTT is trading at $1,2714, representing a 1.4% increase. This surge follows a substantial upward trend observed over the past 30 days.

    Featured image from FOX Business, chart from TradingView.com 

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    Ronaldo Marquez

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