Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried hires defense attorney as US authorities probe FTX: Report
Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has reportedly hired Mark Cohen, a former federal prosecutor, to act as his defense attorney. According to a Dec. 6 report from Reuters, Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson Mark Botnick said the former FTX CEO has retained Cohen amid a flurry of civil litigation from investors in the crypto exchange and investigations by lawmakers and regulators in the United States. Cohen, a co-founder of law firm Cohen & Gresser, was a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York who also on the defense team for the high-profile case involving Ghislaine Maxwell — sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sex trafficking and related charges. Lawmakers with the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have announced separate hea...
Metallica issues crypto scam alert before the 72 Seasons album launch
It’s quite evident that bad actors have left no stone unturned as legendary metal band Metallica warned fans against crypto giveaway scams right before their highly anticipated launch of its new album, 72 Seasons. Cashing in on the buzz around Metallica’s new album launch and upcoming tour, scammers have started targeting metalheads through social media impersonation. Metallica, however, was quick to point out “the ugly side of social media,” asking fans to steer away from Metallica Crypto giveaways, stating: “Let’s be as clear as possible. [Metallica crypto giveaways] are scams.” Sad but true, Cointelegraph recently highlighted a rise in front-running scams on YouTube, which according to blockchain security firm CertiK, has risen by 500% in one year. The ongoing Metallica scams contribute...
US House committee chair pushes back against SBF’s excuse to potentially delay testimony
Maxine Waters, chair of the United States House Financial Services Committee, has called out former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for announcing on social media he intended to testify after “learning and reviewing what happened” at the exchange. In a Dec. 5 Twitter thread, Waters cited Bankman-Fried’s numerous media interviews in the wake of FTX’s bankruptcy as evidence that his information was “sufficient for testimony” before the committee. Waters will preside over a hearing investigating the collapse of FTX on Dec. 13, in which committee leadership said they expected Bankman-Fried and other individuals associated with the events around the exchange’s downfall to appear. “The collapse of FTX has harmed over one million people,” said Waters, in a statement directed to Bankman-Fried. “Your tes...
Elon Musk alleges SBF donated over $1B to Democrats: “Where did it go?”
The attempts of mainstream media to water down the frauds committed by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) did not fare well in convincing the crypto community and entrepreneurs. Instead, the misinformation campaign collided with Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s drive to position Twitter as “the most accurate source of information.” The world is yet to overcome the shock after witnessing the legal leniency awarded to SBF for misappropriating users’ funds and shady investment practices via trading firms Alameda Research and FTX. Will Manidis, the CEO of ScienceIO, a healthcare data platform, pointed out that SBF made the “highest ROI trade of all time” by donating $40 million to the right people for getting away with stealing over $10 billion. That’s just the publicly disclosed number. His act...
Dems and Reps join forces to pressure SBF to testify before Congress
The leadership with the United States House Financial Services Committee have separately called on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to appear in an investigative hearing scheduled for Dec. 13. In Dec. 2 posts on Twitter, House Financial Services Committee chair Maxine Waters, a Democrat, and ranking member Patrick McHenry, a Republican, requested SBF speak at a hearing aimed at investigating the events around the collapse of FTX. It’s unclear if the U.S. lawmakers intended the former FTX CEO to appear in person or remotely from the Bahamas. “[Sam Bankman-Fried], we appreciate that you’ve been candid in your discussions about what happened at FTX,” said Waters. “Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company’s customers, investors, and others.” “As you said, [Sam B...
Mike Novogratz: Bankman-Fried is ‘delusional’ and headed to jail
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been lambasted this week following a series of controversial public appearances, with Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz one of the latest to dish out a lashing to the former kingpin of crypto. On Dec. 1, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz unleashed a tirade of criticism towards SBF concerning his interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times annual DealBook Summit on Nov. 30. Speaking to Bloomberg, Novogratz characterized SBF as “delusional” following his declaration in the live interview that he never tried to commit fraud. “It’s kind of surprising that his lawyers are letting him speak,” Novogratz said before adding “having watched two interviews, the word delusional kept coming to mind.” The lambasting didn’t stop there with Novogratz ec...
Legal professionals astonished as SBF admits failures, apologizes 12 times in interview
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried apologized or admitted failure at least 12 times during his appearance at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Nov. 30. In a wide-ranging video interview, Bankman-Fried was asked to answer a number of questions surrounding the downfall of the now-defunct exchange, with some even suggesting that some of his statements could be used to incriminate him in legal proceedings. In a Nov. 30 Twitter post, crypto attorney Jeremy Hogan, Partner at Hogan & Hogan said that the “light cross-examination” of Bankman-Fried at the DealBook Summit has already returned “at least 3 incriminating statements so far.” SBF is getting a light cross-examination at the NYT/Dealbook Summit and has made at least 3 incriminating statements so far. Why are his lawyers (...
‘I never opened the code for FTX’: SBF has long, candid talk with vlogger
Former FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) selected cryptocurrency vlogger Tiffany Fong for a series of lengthy and candid telephone interviews. In the two interviews that had been released on YouTube at press time, SBF speaks about many of the major questions connected with the collapse of FTX. The first interview was conducted Nov. 6 and released Nov. 29 on YouTube. “I’ve started to trust my gut on things like this,” SBF said, explaining why he selected the relatively unknown figure to speak to. Fong has less than 10,000 subscribers to her channel. “Here’s someone who will, like, approach this from at least a somewhat neutral and interested vantage point,” he said of her. He continued: “We as a society, in my opinion, my humble opinion, have spent quite enough time this week trying to figur...
Learn from FTX and stop investing in speculation
The FTX collapse marks more than just the failure of another crypto exchange. It signals the time has come for the industry to grow up and embrace value. The value schism is here. FTX was the world’s second-largest crypto exchange. Now, it is a meme for the death rattle of absurd amounts of money being poured into refurbished centralized business models whitewashed in faux decentralization. As legendary investor Warren Buffet famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” It seems there were more than a few nude bathers in this last cycle. But we’ve seen this before, right? Actually, not quite. Bitcoin (BTC) emerged at the start of the longest financial market bull run in history. The industry it spawned proliferated, literally, in the best of...
Crypto Biz: Institutions short Bitcoin as SBF is ‘deeply sorry’ for FTX collapse
The monumental collapse of FTX will go down as one of the biggest corporate scandals of all time. But, at least Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF, is sorry. On Nov. 22, the disgraced founder of FTX penned a letter to his former employees describing his role in the company’s bankruptcy. “I never intended this to happen,” he wrote. “I did not realize the full extent of the margin position, nor did I realize the magnitude of the risk posed by a hyper-correlated crash.” Get this: SBF still thinks the company can be saved because “there are billion of dollars of genuine interest from new investors.” Shouldn’t he be preoccupied with trying to avoid jail right now? Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto market have been reeling in the wake of the scandal. While this has allowed many diamond handed hodlers ...
FTX miniseries gets go ahead, covering the ‘most brazen frauds ever committed’
An eight-episode limited series exploring the unraveling and scandals behind sunken crypto exchange FTX and its leadership is slated to soon begin production. The series has been purchased by technology conglomerate Amazon, and will likely air on Amazon’s video streaming service Prime. It’s understood to be based on “insider reporting” from journalists covering FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried according to a Nov. 23 report from the entertainment magazine Variety. Brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, famed for directing Avengers: Endgame and multiple other Marvel-owned movies are reported to have sold the idea to Amazon and are slated to direct the mini-series. Details are sparse with what direction the series will take, the source material it will draw from, and what time period and people...
Texas to probe FTX endorsements by Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and other celebs
NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA point guard Stephen Curry are reportedly among the celebrities facing a probe from the Texas financial regulator over their promotion of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX. Joe Rotunda, director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board reportedly told Bloomberg in a Nov. 22 report that the Texas State Securities Board is scrutinizing payments received by celebrities to endorse FTX US, what disclosures were made and how accessible they were for investors. Rotunda however noted that while the watchdog was taking a “close look at them,” the celebrities’ endorsements of FTX were not an “immediate priority,” but would be part of the “regulator’s larger probe into FTX’s collapse.” Both Brady and Curry have a...
