Tag: sam bankman-fried news

From Crypto To Catch: Disgraced FTX Founder Turns To Trading Fish In Prison

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According to a report by Business Insider, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), co-founder and former CEO of FTX, has adapted to the economic system of New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is currently awaiting sentencing on multiple felony counts.

The disgraced crypto-billionaire has reportedly been bartering, using food as currency in exchange for various services within the prison.

Former FTX CEO SBF Trades Fish For Services

Per the report, mackerel, a fish commonly referred to as “macks” among inmates, emerged as the currency of choice in federal prisons after cigarettes were banned. The fish’s popularity stems from its stability and value within the prison economy.

Formerly incarcerated individuals like attorney Larry Levin have accepted mackerel as payment from fellow prisoners, using it to acquire services such as beard trims and shoe shines.

The demand for mackerel became so significant that suppliers, including Global Source Marketing, witnessed increased sales, according to Business Insider.

In a prison environment where inmates lack access to traditional or digital currency, products with steady value, such as certain food items and stamps, serve as substitutes for money.

Mackerel and other stable commodities like tuna become a means of exchange, with their value pegged to the dollar. This economic logic allows inmates to engage in various transactions while maintaining a semblance of a barter system.

The use of fish as a medium of exchange in federal prisons has been widespread since 2004, following the cigarette ban.

Sam Bankman-Fried faces sentencing on March 28, 2024, for charges that include wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with a potential prison term of up to 110 years. Additionally, SBF is set to stand trial for separate counts related to political bribery.

FTT Surges with Impressive Gains

FTT, the native token of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has seen a remarkable surge in value in recent weeks. With substantial gains across various timeframes and an impressive market capitalization of 1.5 billion, FTT has cemented its position among the top 50 tokens in the crypto market.

Over the past 24 hours, FTT has experienced a significant increase of 21%, showcasing the token’s upward momentum. This short-term surge is complemented by a strong performance over the past week, with a notable rise of 26%.

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

However, the real standout lies in FTT’s gains over the past 14 and 30 days. Within the last two weeks, FTT has skyrocketed by an impressive 100%, while the 30-day timeframe has seen an astounding surge of 315%.

These gains highlight the growing demand and investor interest in FTT as rumors of a possible reboot of the exchange circulate within the crypto community.

Featured image from Bloomberg, chart from TradingView.com

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Ronaldo Marquez

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November 23, 2023
FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Completes His Testimony, Here’s What To Expect Next | Bitcoinist.com
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Sam Bankman-Fried has concluded his last testimony in his criminal trial and now the fate of the former FTX CEO lies in the hands of Jurors with the power to convict him to his sentence or exonerate him.

Former FTX CEO Testimony Reaches Climax

Founder and former CEO of failed FTX Trading Ltd, Sam Bankman-Fried has been on trial after being accused of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy charges related to the collapse of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.

The former CEO has constantly pleaded not guilty on all charges and took the stand for the first time last Friday to personally defend his case on the fraud trial.

Tuesday marked the Bankman-Fried’s last day of testimony in a court trial headed by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan and the FTX founder was seen to be struggling with the barrage of questions delivered to him by prosecutors.

When Assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon probed Bankman-Fried on his stance on cryptocurrency exchange regulations and if he advocated for it, the former FTX CEO affirmed he did so to Congress. However, the prosecutors revealed evidence of Bankman-Fried declaring profanities to regulators and customers.

Following the completion of his testimony, the defense rested its case and now the court’s focus is on the next phase of the trial which is the closing arguments, scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

During this phase, the prosecutors and defense will deliver their final arguments to the 12 Jurors consisting of nine women and three men some of whom are nurses, social workers, teachers, and more.

Sam Bankman-Fried is presently out of opportunities to further convince the Jurors, and the testimony of some of his closest work colleagues and employees, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Adam Yedidia, and former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison have made his defense and trial case more complicated.

Sam Bankman-Fried Denies Prior Knowledge Of Misappropriated Customer Funds

In his recent testimony, Sam Bankman-Fried denied all allegations of being aware of the billions of dollars in customer funds misappropriated before the collapse of FTX.

When asked by Danielle Sassoon during his testimony if he had warned his employees not to spend customer funds, Bankman-Fried’s primary response was not being able to remember giving any directive.

The former CEO repeatedly told the court that he had not defrauded anyone or embezzled customer funds. Instead, he spread the blame on his former employees and friends, stating that he regretted not properly looking into the $8 billion shortfall in FTX’s balance sheet.

Bankman-Fried testified that when he asked his executives about the shortfall, they stated that they were preoccupied and told him to stop asking questions since it was distracting.
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FTT Token drops below $1.2 | Source: FTTUSDT on Tradingview.com
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Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview.com
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Scott Matherson

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November 1, 2023
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.
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FTT bulls maintain dominance above $1.2 | Source: FTTUSDT on Tradingview.com
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Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview.com
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Scott Matherson

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November 1, 2023
What Happened To The Plan To Sell FTX To Binance? Sam Bankman-Fried Tells All | Bitcoinist.com
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The former CEO of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), took the stand once again on October 27. This time, it was in front of the jury as Bankman-Fried had a lot to say about what went on at his former company, including revelations about how he planned to sell the exchange to its one-time competition, Binance.

Why Sam Bankman-Fried Wanted To Sell FTX To Binance

According to a live report by CNN, SBF stated that he saw himself selling FTX to Binance when he and co-founder Gary Wang first started it in 2019 due to the number of crypto exchanges that already existed and the fact that he had no idea of how the company was going to get customers.

However, that idea was quickly shut down as Binance is said to have used an internal team to build its exchange platform. Following this, Sam Bankman-Fried noted that he was more motivated than ever to build something out of FTX despite the initial challenge of growing its customer base.

In the weeks after that, the defendant began to feel more hopeful and felt there was a “20% of success,” which he saw as “a huge opportunity” considering the profitability that the biggest exchanges enjoyed.

FTX went on to become one of the biggest exchanges, even surpassing the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, Coinbase, at some point. While on the stand, Bankman-Fried revealed that he felt the “design philosophies” of some exchanges then “didn’t make a lot of sense,” so the exchange capitalized on that to create a niche for itself.

The crypto exchange was seen as more alluring to high-volume traders due to its cheaper trading fees and the fact that the crypto exchange had a more advanced risk engine. The risk engine (which was responsible for liquidations) considered the trader’s account (rather than just a particular trade) whenever it liquidated a customer’s position.

Bankman-Fried Sticks To His Story

Meanwhile, SBF, who has continued to deny any wrongdoing in how he ran FTX and Alameda Research, once again stated on the stand that he didn’t defraud customers. The defendant responded in the negative while replying to a question from his primary counsel, Mark Cohen, on whether he defrauded anyone or not.

While giving his testimony, Sam Bankman-Fried sought to counter the testimonies of witnesses like Wang, Caroline Ellison, and Nishad Singh, as he suggested that they had more leeway than they seemed to have suggested. His close associates had earlier heaped all the blame on the defendant by suggesting that they simply followed Bankman-Fried’s orders as he was totally in control.

Ellison, in particular, had accused Bankman-Fried of directing her to commit the crimes when she used FTX customers’ funds to repay lenders and for other purposes. However, SBF noted that Caroline was the one in charge of Alameda Research and that she even declined when he asked her if she wanted another co-CEO after Sam Trabucco resigned.
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FTT token remains on an upward trajectory | Source: FTTUSDT on Tradingview.com
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Featured image from Fox Business, chart from Tradingview.com
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Scott Matherson

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October 28, 2023
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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October 27, 2023
The Plot Thickens: Sam Bankman-Fried Incriminates Lawyers In FTX Fraud | Bitcoinist.com
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Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has finally testified in court as his legal team begins to construct a defense against charges of two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy. It would seem the 31-year-old former billionaire is now taking a different tactic in his latest attempt to wiggle out of the fraud charges.

While taking the stand, SBF claimed his legal team gave the green light for all of his shady actions leading up to the epic collapse of the exchange.

Sam Bankman-Fried Takes The Witness Stand

The case against the former FTX CEO is making headway in court as the failed crypto exchange continues to struggle to bounce back from insolvency and possibly restart its operations.

The prosecution closed its case last week after 12 trial days after calling on several key witnesses, including Alameda Reserach’s ex-CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang, and former Director of Engineering Nishad Singh. Although these witnesses have also implicated Bankman-Fried, the defense continues to work on a not-guilty stand.

SBF’s defense team presented him as the third witness after Krystal Rolle, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer in the Bahamas, and database expert Joseph Pimbley. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan allowed SB to take to the stand at his fraud trial On October 26, outside the jury’s presence.

In his testimony, SBF claimed his lawyers at the time, including Dan Friedberg, approved all of his actions, making him believe he was acting in good faith and everything was fine.

The FTX founder said lawyers were involved in setting this system for diverting customer funds into an Alameda bank account. However, prosecutors have said SBF should not allowed to suggest that the involvement of lawyers in decision-making is an indication of innocence of any wrongdoing.

SBF counters that he was acting without criminal intent on the advice of his attorneys. But when the prosecution’s attorney Danielle Sassoon cross-examined him, he found it difficult to cite specific instances in which his attorneys gave their approval.

“The witness has what I’ll simply call an interesting way of responding to questions,” Judge Kaplan said.

The defense also made the point that testimonies from former FTX top employees were tailored to implicate Bankman-Fried in the hopes of them receiving lenient sentences.

What’s Next For The FTX Founder’s Defense?

Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried was key in diverting customer funds to Alameda Research, while also donating more than $100 million to political campaigns in the US. If convicted, the former FTX CEO could spend up to 20 years in prison.

SBF’s defense seems bleak at the moment, and Judge Kaplan has already disqualified seven of its witnesses. Bankman-Fried is expected to testify to the jury on Friday, where Kaplan is to decide if he could speak to the jurors about lawyers approving his actions.
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FTT Token makes a break above $1.3 | Source: FTTUSDT on Tradingview.com
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Featured image from KRDO, chart from Tradingview.com
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Scott Matherson

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October 27, 2023
FTX Ramps Up Restitution Efforts, Subpoenas AI Firm CAIS Over $6.5M Investment

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Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, led by newly appointed CEO John Ray III, has embarked on an intensive legal campaign to regain control and recover assets in its pursuit of financial restitution.

As founder Sam Bankman-Fried awaits possible conviction and faces a staggering 114 years in prison if found guilty, FTX’s asset recovery plan continues under Ray’s leadership.

FTX Bankruptcy Battle Escalates

In a recent filing with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, FTX issued a subpoena to the artificial intelligence (AI) firm Center for AI Safety (CAIS), demanding accounting records and information regarding payments, agreements, and contracts related to the $6.5 million investment.

The motion, filed on behalf of the debtors who sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 11 and November 14, 2022, states that the Debtors are operating their businesses and managing their properties as debtors-in-possession under the Bankruptcy Code.

It also highlights the appointment of an Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors by the US Trustee. FTX’s investigations have revealed that CAIS received transfers totaling at least $6.5 million in debtors’ funds between May and September 2022.

As part of their ongoing efforts to understand the debtors’ financial landscape, transactions, and estate, FTX has requested CAIS to produce relevant documents and information related to payments, agreements, communications, and other pertinent details.

Debtors Seek Answers

According to the motion filed on October 25, despite the debtors’ attempts to engage in a cooperative dialogue and resolve the matter amicably, CAIS has rejected voluntary requests for accounting and failed to respond to formal correspondence. The filing reads:

The Debtors have attempted to engage in a cooperative meet and confer process to obtain information from the CAIS voluntarily. The Debtors have so far been unsuccessful. On a phone call on August 22, 2023, counsel for CAIS expressed unwillingness to make its records related to the transfers available to the Debtors. In emails between October 2-6, 2023, Debtors requested information concerning the amount of Debtor funds CAIS has spent, the amount of Debtor funds it has retained, and its financial condition. CAIS declined to provide that information.

The motion concludes by stating that notice of this action has been provided to relevant parties, including the US Trustee, the Committee’s counsel, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the US Department of Justice, the US Attorney for the District of Delaware, and CAIS itself.

FTX’s native token FTT is experiencing a correction after reaching a new 2023 high on the 4-hour chart. Source: FTTUSDT on TradingView.com

FTX’s native token, FTT, is trading at $1.22, marking a return to the $1 level for the first time since November 2022. Although it has experienced a decline of over 5% in the past 24 hours, the token has exhibited noteworthy gains over the past seven days, amounting to a 17% upward trend.

The token’s value has diminished by more than 95% when considering the one-year timeframe.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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Ronaldo Marquez

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October 26, 2023
The Most Jaw-Dropping Revelations Made About FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried During Trial | Bitcoinist.com
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The trial of the former CEO of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has produced some interesting revelations even as SBF is set to testify in his case when his hearing resumes on October 26. The most notable ones seem to have come from the testimonies of his ‘inner circle.’

How Sam Bankman-Fried Saw Himself

As part of its case, the prosecution got Alameda Reserach’s ex-CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang, and FTX’s former Director of Engineering Nishad Singh to testify against their former associate Bankman-Fried. Many will argue that these witnesses lived up to the hype as key witnesses as they helped corroborate the prosecution’s allegations.

However, the extra details from their testimonies have also not gone unnoticed. One of them happens to be when Ellison mentioned on the stand that SBF had mentioned his ambition of one day becoming the President of the United States. While they may be unrelated, it could also explain why Bankman-Fried was cozying up to several political figures.

The defendant’s curls were always seen to be one of his standout features, and he thought so, too, according to Ellison’s testimony. She mentioned on the stand that Bankman-Fried had once told her that his hair was “essential to his image” and very valuable, as he believed that the hair had earned him more money in his past jobs.

How Co-Conspirators Felt After The FTX Collapsed

While admitting to her role as a co-conspirator, Ellison seemed to be remorseful (or so it seemed) about her actions. During her testimony, she mentioned how she felt a sense of relief after FTX’s collapse as she didn’t have to lie anymore. According to her, the vent provided an opportunity for her to take responsibility and be honest about what she had done.

Ellison wasn’t the only one who felt certain emotions in the weeks following FTX’s collapse, as Singh mentioned that he was suicidal for days. He mentioned how, in spite of it all, he was optimistic that they could salvage the whole situation rather than playing the blame game.

Meanwhile, during that period, it would seem that all Wang was concerned about was not going to jail, as he flew into the US six days after FTX filed for bankruptcy. According to him, he believed that he was likely to be charged and decided to be one step ahead by agreeing to cooperate with the prosecutors in order to get a shorter prison sentence.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial will resume on October 26, with the prosecution concluding its case, after which the defense will move to open its case. The defendant is set to testify in what seems to be a last-ditch effort by SBF’s lawyers to salvage his case.
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FTT shows strength as trial continues | Source: FTTUSDT on Tradingview.com
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Scott Matherson

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October 26, 2023