The 30-year-old, who often appeared on television via a video connection from the Bahamas, where his business is situated, in recent weeks rejected legal advice and increased the number of media appearances in which he offered his explanation for his company’s unexpected demise.
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) December 13, 2022
Background Narrative
For those who are unaware, Sam Bankman-cryptocurrency Fried’s trading company Alameda Research had an undisclosed synergistic relationship with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. This relationship included tied up funds at the Silvergate bank and allowed Alameda the convenience of borrowing client funds from FTX after posting collateral in the form of illiquid tokens, including FTX’s proprietary FTT coin. However, this house of cards fell when Binance sold off its own FTT holdings, causing the token’s price to crash, and Alameda’s excessive exposure to the FTT token became known in early November. In the midst of this conflict, Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, disclosed the trading company’s FTT token floor price, setting off a veritable barrage of speculative assaults. In the end, FTX had no alternative but to file for bankruptcy since Alameda’s capacity to pay off its debts was compromised because its illiquid token collateral swiftly lost its inflated value, and because increasing customer withdrawals had sparked a bank run. In his prepared statements for the Congressional hearing, Sam Bankman-Fried was accused of significant offences by FTX’s new CEO, John J. Ray III, a seasoned attorney who managed Enron’s bankruptcy. These offences included failing to follow correct security procedures for client assets, enabling Alameda to borrow money from FTX without “any effective limit,” mixing assets, and failing to provide enough paperwork for over 500 investments that FTX made. The failure of FTX has had a substantial negative impact on the long-term survival of cryptocurrencies and has placed further strain on other platforms and companies who rode the wave of success created by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
