SBF
FTX reboot could falter due to long-broken user trust, say observers
Several crypto industry commentators have expressed skepticism about FTX CEO John Ray’s vision to potentially reboot the crypto exchange, citing trust issues and “second-class” treatment of customers as reasons why users may not “feel safe to go back.” Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted on Jan. 20 praising John Ray for looking at a reboot of FTX, suggesting it is the best move for its customers. I’m glad Mr. Ray is finally paying lip service to turning the exchange back on after months of squashing such efforts! I’m still waiting for him to finally admit FTX US is solvent and give customers their money back…https://t.co/XjcyYFsoU0https://t.co/SdvMIMXQ5K — SBF (@SBF_FTX) January 19, 2023 This came after John Ray told The Wall Street Journal on Jan. 19 that he wa...
SBF met with Biden’s senior advisers 2 months before FTX’s collapse: Report
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried met with government officials at the White House on at least four separate occasions in 2022, one of which reportedly occurred just two months before the fall of his crypto empire. Most of the meetings were disclosed in visitor logs that are posted by the White House every month, with the records showing that Bankman-Fried met with Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti on April 22 and May 12, along with another meeting on May 13 meeting with policy adviser Charlotte Butash. However, according to a Dec. 29 Bloomberg report, the former FTX CEO also met with the president’s counselor Ricchette as recently as Sept. 8, a meeting that did not show up on the visitor logs. White House 2022 visitor logs featuring Sam Bankman-Fried. Source: The White House ...
Community slams NYT for its latest ‘sympathy piece’ on FTX’s Bankman-Fried
The online community including some cryptocurrency figures has condemned the latest so-called “sympathy” article from The New York Times written about FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. In the Dec. 26 article published titled “In the Bahamas, a Lingering Sympathy for Sam Bankman-Fried,” New York Times journalist Rob Copeland quotes local Bahamians who appeared to have mostly positive things to say about the cryptocurrency exchange founder. One resident opined he had a “good heart,” with another local saying they “feel bad for him.” A resident interviewed for the article even said it “doesn’t make any sense” that Bankman-Fried’s alleged crimes landed him in prison. The article suggests that the glowing reviews of Bankman-Fried by locals stem from his millions of dollars i...
SBF signs extradition papers, set to return to face charges in the US
Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has reportedly signed papers on Dec. 20 that will soon see him handed over to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and flown to the United States to face criminal charges. The move was expected, as Bankman-Fried was reported to have agreed in principle to being extradited to the U.S. earlier this week on Dec. 19, despite earlier reports indicating he wanted to see the indictment against him fir ABC News reported the development that Bankman-Fried signed extradition papers on Dec. 20 citing The Bahamas’ acting commissioner of corrections Doan Cleare. A Dec. 21 report from Bloomberg said the exchange founder signed surrender documents on Dec. 20 citing Cleare, with another set of papers waiving h...
FTX Bahamas co-CEO Ryan Salame blew the whistle on FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried
A high-ranking executive at FTX’s Bahamian entity tipped off local regulators of potential fraud perpetrated at the cryptocurrency exchange just two days before the exchange was forced to close. According to Bahamian court records filed on Dec. 14, Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets (FDM), told the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) on Nov. 9 that FTX was sending customer funds to its sister trading firm Alameda Research. Salame said the funds were to “cover financial losses of Alameda” and the transfer was “not allowed or consented to by their clients.” He also told the SCB only three people had the access required to transfer client assets to Alameda: Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang and FTX engineer Nishad Singh. Ryan Salame ...
White House silent on whether it will return $5.2M in donations from SBF
White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, declined to answer questions from a reporter on whether United States president Joe Biden will return the $5.2 million in campaign donations previously given by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. “Will the president return that donation?” Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller asked in a Dec. 13 press briefing, “does he call on all politicians who got campaign donations that may have come from customer money to return those funds?” “I’m covered here by the Hatch Act,” Jean-Pierre responded, adding she was “limited on what I can say.” ”Anything that’s connected to political contributions, from here I would have to refer you to the DNC,” she said in reference to the Democratic National Committee — the governing body of the U.S. Democrat...
SBF ‘didn’t like’ decentralized Bitcoin — ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood
Bitcoin (BTC) is too “decentralized and transparent” for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, says Cathie Wood. In a tweet on Dec. 10, Wood, who is CEO of investment giant ARK Invest, delivered a fresh damning appraisal of the FTX saga. Wood: SBF “couldn’t control” Bitcoin As the legal ramifications of FTX and Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, continue, Bitcoin loyalists are giving him little sympathy. ARK’s Wood is now firmly among them, not mincing her words as BTC price action continues to trade around 20% down over the month. “The Bitcoin blockchain didn’t skip a beat during the crisis caused by opaque centralized players,” she wrote. “No wonder Sam Bankman Fried didn’t like Bitcoin: it’s transparent and decentralized. He couldn’t control it.” Wood linked to ARK Invest’s...
FEC probe demanded after SBF ‘admitted’ making dark money donations
A watchdog group has demanded an investigation into Sam Bankman-Fried’s political donations, claiming the former FTX CEO admitted to donating tens of millions of dollars to Republicans under the table, in violation of federal law. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Dec. 8, citing comments made by Bankman-Fried in a Nov. 16 interview with cryptocurrency vlogger Tiffany Fong released via YouTube on Nov. 29. CREW suggested in its complaint that wealthy donors often take advantage of the Citizen United ruling to evade federal disclosure laws by using intermediaries and claiming they were unaware of where the funds ended up, but that Bankman-Fried’s admission negates this plausible deniabil...
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...
Bankman-Fried claims: ‘I unknowingly commingled funds’ at DealBook Summit
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has claimed to have “unknowingly commingled funds” between Alameda and customer funds at FTX. Bankman-Fried was speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit via video conference on Nov. 30, in which journalist Andrew Sorkin noted “there appears to be a genuine commingling of the funds that are FTX customers that were not supposed to be commingled with your separate firm.” Sam Bankman-Fried speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit. Source: New York Times Bankman-Fried denied knowing about the commingled funds and blamed it on poor oversight. “I unknowingly commingled funds […] I was frankly surprised by how big Alameda’s position was which points to another failure of oversight on my part and failure to appoint someone to be chiefly in ...
Sam Bankman-Fried reveals the circumstances behind Bahamian withdrawals
FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has divulged what really went on in the days before it filed for bankruptcy when the exchange selectively reopened withdrawals — only for Bahamian users. In a telephone interview with crypto blogger Tiffany Fong, dated Nov. 16, Bankman-Fried claims to have made the decision to reopen withdrawals to Bahamian citizens as he did not want himself, nor the exchange, to be in a country “with a lot of angry people in it.” “The reason I did it was it was critical to the exchange being able to have a future because that’s where I am right now, and you do not want to be in a country with a lot of angry people in it and you do not want your company to be incorporated in a country with a lot of angry people in it,” he said. Bankman-Fried claims he gave Bahamian...
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...
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