Disgraced FTX Co-Founder Awaits Trial, Passes Time Playing Video Games and Blogging on His New Substack Newsletter

The former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has revealed a Substack e-newsletter on Jan. 12, 2023, and the primary submit is titled “FTX Pre-Mortem Overview.” In the submit, SBF maintains that an “extreme, quick, targeted crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance made Alameda insolvent.” The weblog submit doesn’t point out the allegations made by his former co-workers, ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang. The disgraced former FTX govt additionally carried out a one-on-one interview at his house in Palo Alto with Puck News reporter Theodore Schleifer.

Former FTX CEO Fights Fraud Charges, Maintains Innocence in New Substack Post

The co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has been extra vocal in current occasions since his arrest and preliminary court appearances earlier than a Southern District of New York choose. On January 12, 2023, SBF started a Substack e-newsletter referred to as “SBF’s Substack” and revealed his first post in regards to the fall of FTX and Alameda Research, the quantitative buying and selling agency that he based in 2019. In the primary weblog submit, SBF insists that he didn’t steal any buyer funds.

https://t.co/XVd0BPHxEU

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) January 12, 2023

“I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away,” the previous CEO of FTX wrote. SBF additionally emphasised that he didn’t “run Alameda for the past few years.” He said that three elements contributed to the autumn of FTX and Alameda, together with Alameda’s steadiness sheet swelling and Alameda’s failure to “sufficiently hedge its market exposure.” Additionally, SBF believes that the ultimate nail within the coffin for FTX was pushed by Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao. In the Substack weblog submit, SBF mentioned:

In November 2022, an excessive, fast, focused crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance made Alameda bancrupt.

Much of SBF’s Substack weblog submit is just like earlier interviews he gave earlier than his arrest. There is little new info within the weblog submit compared to what the FTX co-founder mentioned throughout his media tour in mid-November 2022. While SBF insists that he “didn’t steal funds,” the previous FTX govt doesn’t handle the allegations made by his former co-workers, ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, who’ve reported monetary misconduct and the commingling of FTX buyer funds with Alameda Research beginning in 2019.

SBF Reaches Out to New CEO to Lend a Hand But Remains Isolated and Lonely

SBF additionally talked about that after transferring FTX US to John J. Ray III, the change was nonetheless solvent. “It’s ridiculous that FTX US users haven’t been made whole and gotten their funds back yet,” SBF commented in his weblog submit. The former FTX CEO, who has been disgraced, additionally mentioned his dealings with the brand new FTX CEO Ray with Puck News reporter Theodore Schleifer. The Puck reporter met SBF at his dad and mom’ house in Palo Alto, California, the place SBF greeted him sporting his government-issued ankle bracelet. SBF’s German shepherd “Sandor” was additionally current on the home.

I wrote the opposite day that Sam Bankman-Fried believes deeply that the standard disaster comms textbook is lifeless.

The resolution to launch this says all of it higher than I may. https://t.co/gAVcmy08sK

— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) January 12, 2023

Schleifer reported that SBF reached out to the brand new FTX CEO John Ray “six or seven times” to supply his assist. The Puck reporter famous that Ray has “kept his distance” from the previous FTX CEO. The interview highlights that SBF is lonely and remoted and he’s “relieved to have regained access to the Internet,” Schleifer reported. The Puck reporter had identified SBF earlier than the change’s demise as they chatted within the fall of 2020. Schleifer wrote “we were both interested in the effective altruism movement” and they might “text every few months about politics or philanthropy.” The interview was two-and-a-half hours lengthy and SBF mentioned his hardship of being a vegan when he was in jail in The Bahamas and consuming plenty of peanut butter.

While awaiting his October 3, 2023 trial within the Southern District of New York and dealing with eight counts of monetary fraud and conspiracy costs, SBF continues to play “lots of video games.” According to Schleifer, SBF’s recreation of alternative lately is “Storybrook Brawl,” however the disgraced FTX co-founder doesn’t use his gaming deal with or communicate with different gamers. Despite playing video games, “it doesn’t really fully distract from what’s going on,” SBF instructed Schleifer.

Although Schleifer notes “that there are not many real people for [SBF] to talk to anymore,” the interview doesn’t handle the accusations made by Ellison and Wang. The Puck interview briefly mentions that each co-workers have “flipped on [SBF]” and that FTX’s director of engineering, “[Nishad Singh], is expected to do the same.”

What do you concentrate on SBF’s efforts to clear his identify? Share your ideas within the feedback beneath.