Sam Bankman-Fried news
FTX presentation shows 'massive shortfall' in firm's assets
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has revealed a "massive shortfall" in its digital asset and fiat currency holdings with billions worth of customer funds missing from both the exchange and its United States-based arm, FTX US. On Mar. 2 the exchange released a presentation showing FTX had $2.2 billion in exchange wallets and fiat accounts of which $694 million consisted of the most liquid "Category A Assets" that include cash, stablecoins, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) priced at the latest spot prices. Only $191 million of total assets were located in the wallets of the accounts associated with FTX US, in …
Blockchain / March 2, 2023
Former FTX Director to reportedly plead guilty to fraud charges
Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at FTX, is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges brought by U.S. prosecutors who are investigating the now bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reported on Feb 28. During the hearing in a Manhattan federal court, Singh's lawyer announced that his client had agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on FTX customers, and one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud. Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has agreed to plead guilty to U.S. criminal charges, …
Blockchain / Feb. 28, 2023
FTX Japan allows total withdrawal of funds; users rejoice the 'escape'
While FTX customers across the world patiently await Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) legal conclusion in hopes of getting back their investments, users of FTX Japan have started withdrawing all of their funds. On Nov. 7, 2022, crypto exchange FTX and its subsidiaries halted all funds withdrawal after SBF was accused of misappropriating users’ funds. The domino effect forced Liquid Group — a Japanese crypto trading platform owned by FTX since February 2022 — to halt withdrawals on Nov. 15, 2022. However, to some investors’ delight, FTX Japan resumed withdraws on Feb. 21 — which involved moving funds from the defunct exchange …
Regulation / Feb. 26, 2023
Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers request extension for bail condition proposal
Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in federal court have requested an extension to file a proposal related to his bail conditions. In a Feb. 24 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gressler said the legal team wanted until March 3 to file a proposal for additional bail conditions for Bankman-Fried as well as find a suitable candidate to act as a technical expert in the case. The lawyers agreed to hire an expert following a Feb. 16 hearing discussing the former FTX CEO’s use of …
Regulation / Feb. 24, 2023
Unsealed superseding indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried includes 12 criminal charges
In a superseding indictment filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on Feb. 22, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams alleged Bankman-Fried’s actions in the matter involving FTX and Alameda warranted 12 charges. According to the indictment, these included: Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud on Customers of FTX Wire Fraud on Customers of FTX Conspiracy to Commit Fraud on Customers of FTX in Connection with Purchase and Sales of Derivatives Fraud on Customers of FTX in Connection with Purchase and Sales of Derivatives Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud on Investors in FTX Securities Fraud on …
Regulation / Feb. 23, 2023
SBF lawyers to pay for technical expert to aid judge on bail terms
Attorneys working on behalf of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried have agreed to pay for a security expert to assist the federal judge overseeing his fraud case in navigating modern encryption technology to aid in possibly modifying Bankman-Fried's bail terms. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers Christian Everdell and Mark Cohen sent a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan on Feb. 21 agreeing with his proposal for a technical professional to aid him. According to the letter, “the defense has already begun researching and contacting possible experts and anticipates being able to propose one or more potential candidates to the court by the end of …
Regulation / Feb. 22, 2023
FTX poked the bear and the bear is pissed — O'Leary on the crypto crackdown
Shark Tank investor and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary has urged crypto exchanges to “get on board with regulation” if they want to “stay out of the way” of Gary Gensler and the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). In a Feb. 20 interview with TraderTV Live, O’Leary said that U.S. lawmakers are “fatigued” over crypto collapses and that they’re only going to get more ruthless if companies continue to not comply: “You got to get on board with regulation, you got to stay out of the way of Gensler at the SEC and other regulators. Those hombres [men] in Washington …
Adoption / Feb. 21, 2023
BlockFi appeals to cancel bankruptcy status for SBF’s offshore investment vehicle
Consequences of the FTX scandal at the hands of its founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman Fried, continue to surface. On Feb. 17, it was reported that the bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc. appealed to the United States Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, to strip the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections from SBF’s offshore investment vehicle. Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd. was used by the FTX founder to purchase a 7.6% stake in Robinhood Markets Inc. According to BlockFi’s motion, the bankruptcy status of Emergent Fidelity holds little purpose and was filed to undermine BlockFi’s own claim to shares of Robinhood. However, …
Regulation / Feb. 20, 2023
Voyager creditors serve SBF a Subpoena to appear in court for a ‘remote deposition’
Representatives for Voyager's Unsecured Creditors have requested that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, provide documents and appear in court remotely next week for a deposition. A court filing on Feb. 18 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, stated that Bankman-Fried has been served a “Subpoena to Testify at a Deposition in a Bankruptcy Case.” It was served by the Official Committee for the Unsecured Creditors of Voyager Digital Holdings, a bankrupt crypto lending exchange, who stated that he must appear for the “remote deposition” on Feb. 23. It also stated that Bankman-Fried produce …
Regulation / Feb. 19, 2023
SBF could 'conceivably' get bail revoked, says judge
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried could “conceivably” have his bail revoked after a federal judge said there was “probable cause” to believe he may have engaged in attempted witness tampering. In the Feb. 16 hearing on Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions, Judge Lewis Kaplan said there was “probable cause to believe that he [Bankman-Fried] has committed or attempted to commit a federal felony while on release, namely witness tampering” according to multiple reports. Kaplan suggested that this could “conceivably” see the FTX founder sent back to jail until his trial date in October. Kaplan noted however that the Feb. 16 hearing was …
Regulation / Feb. 17, 2023
Federal judge hints at denying Sam Bankman-Fried any internet access as condition of bail: Report
Judge Lewis Kaplan reportedly targeted Sam Bankman-Fried’s internet usage in a hearing aimed at reviewing the former FTX chief executive officer use of a virtual private network, or VPN. According to a Feb. 16 tweet from NPR correspondent David Gura, Judge Kaplan may have suggested that Bankman-Fried be denied access to any electronic device and the internet as a condition of his bail. Though SBF’s lawyers reportedly said there was no television in Joe Bankman’s and Barbara Fried’s California home — where the former FTX CEO has largely been confined since his arraignment in the United States in December — …
Regulation / Feb. 16, 2023
Ex-Stanford dean says SBF’s parents helped his family battle cancer
The former dean of Stanford Law School who co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail said he considered Bankman-Fried’s parents “the truest of friends” who helped his family through a “harrowing battle with cancer.” In an emailed statement to Cointelegraph on Feb. 16, Larry Kramer said he co-signed Bankman-Fried’s bail as a way to return the favor. “Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried have been close friends of my wife and I since the mid-1990s,” said Kramer. He said that over the past two years, Bankman-Fried’s parents Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, provided food and moral support while “frequently stepping in at moment's notice …
Regulation / Feb. 16, 2023