Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried denies stealing user funds and repeats claims of solvency in new post

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried denies stealing user funds and repeats claims of solvency in new post

Bankman-Fried repeated several claims which bankruptcy officials and federal regulators have denied or contradicted.
In a Thursday morning Substack post, FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried denied allegations that he stole billions in user funds and suggested that Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao conducted a monthslong effort to bring down FTX.

It is Bankman-Fried’s first significant response to federal allegations that he directed an $8 billion fraud that destroyed his $32 billion crypto conglomerate. Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight federal charges including fraud and money laundering, and was released on a $250 million recognizance bond. His trial will begin in October. Bankman-Fried is the subject of complaints from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as well.

His post provides his perspective on the collapse of FTX and his hedge fund Alameda Research, and includes purported FTX and Alameda financial metrics, caveated as “JUST AN ESTIMATE.”

In the beginning of 2022, for example, Bankman-Fried says he estimated Alameda’s total net assets at $99 billion. By October, he believed that his hedge fund’s net assets had fallen to $10 billion. He pinned the collapse on a broader market downturn, even comparing his FTT token’s performance to that of Tesla, bitcoin and the Invesco QQQ, an ETF that tracks the Nasdaq 100.

Bankruptcy lawyers, federal prosecutors and regulators have contradicted many of the claims Bankman-Fried made in his post.

Regulators and prosecutors allege that neither FTX nor Alameda were wholly legitimate businesses but were instruments of Bankman-Fried’s fraud.

FTX’s restructuring officers have said the businesses faced significant and inexplicable cash shortfalls after FTX filed for bankruptcy in November.

The case against Bankman-Fried was constructed with the assistance of his longtime executives Caroline Ellison and Zixiao “Gary” Wang, both of whom pleaded guilty to charges of fraud. Bankman-Fried’s post did not acknowledge their cooperation with federal probes.

In his post, Bankman-Fried also noted that other crypto firms have been “blown out.” He did not acknowledge that three of those firms — BlockFi, Genesis and Gemini —allegedly suffered because of FTX’s collapse.

Many of his claims were ones he’s made before, including that FTX US remained solvent, that Alameda’s liquidity crisis was not due to misconduct but because of broader market turbulence, and that FTX International and Alameda were wholly legitimate, profitable businesses.

The former FTX CEO also pointed to a Nov. 6 tweet from Binance’s Zhao as the culmination of an “extremely effective months-long PR campaign against FTX.”

Zhao has denied those claims. “FTX killed themselves [...] because they stole billions of dollars,” the Binance CEO tweeted in December.

At the end of the post, Bankman-Fried doubled down. “All of which is to say: no funds were stolen,” the 30-year-old wrote.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×