The trial that has captured the attention of investors and intrigued onlookers alike passed through another eventful few days. Most notably, the focus of the prosecutors’ and media’s attention has been Sam Bankman-Fried. How did his testimony go? Let’s jump in.
FTX Trading Ltd., commonly known as FTX, was founded in 2019 by college friends Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and Gary Wong. This exchange quickly grew into one of the most popular cryptocurrency trading platforms. The exchange boasted over 1 million users in 2021 and was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.
The fledgling cryptocurrency exchange had pushed ahead with an expansive and highly aggressive media campaign in 2021 and early 2022. That included the recruitment of high-profile celebrities and former athletes to promote the exchange. Some of those celebrities and former athletes included Tom Brady, Kevin O’Leary, and Larry David.
In late 2021 and early 2022, the cryptocurrency market suffered a series of major setbacks. During this period, questions over FTX’s legitimacy began to sprout. By the end of 2022, FTX had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the extent of the company management’s alleged malfeasance had started to become clear.
Some of the charges against SBF when he acted as FTX CEO include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit fraud of many types. In his own testimony last week, SBF said that his failure was a matter of incompetence rather than maliciousness. SBF denied defrauding anyone or taking customer funds. Through this testimony, SBF hopes to avoid the kind of stiff verdict and sentencing that could see him spend decades behind bars.
