Course:MGMT405 2022W2/Case-2i

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FTX logo.svg
FTX Trading Ltd.
Industry Cryptocurrency
Founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao "Gary" Wang [1]
CEOs John J. Ray III (2022-current) [2] Sam Bankman-Fried (2019-2022)[3]
Founded May 2019[3]
Headquarters Nassau, The Bahamas [1]
Defunct November 11, 2022 [4]
Value prior to bankruptcy $32 billion [1]
Website https://ftx.com/

Background

FTX

FTX Trading Ltd., commonly known as FTX (Futures Exchange), is a now defunct cryptocurrency exchange. FTX was founded in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried (commonly known as SBF) and Zixiao “Gary” Wang, and was headquartered in Nassau, The Bahamas. [5]

FTX facilitated the buying, selling, and entering of derivative contracts, in addition to offering NFT transactions. [4] FTX's platform supported global functionality with nine fiat currencies, and provided products including futures and options, leveraged tokens, and spot markets. [1] The platform's competitive advantage existed in the reasonable trading fees, a mobile app, and a variety of trading opportunities across hundreds of different tokens [1]. By 2021, FTX had grown to be the third largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. [3]

Due to the articles of incorporation in Antigua and Barbuda, residents of the US were not able to access FTX's trading services. [1] Only months prior to its collapse and after raising funds and announcing numerous acquisitions, FTX unveiled a venture fund called FTX Ventures, with plans to begin offering stock trading in the US [5].

FTT

FTX, like many other cryptocurrency exchanges, created a native token called FTT. This token was unique to the FTX ecosystem, providing perks such as discounts on trading fees and staking benefits from FTX. [6] Customers holding FTT of $10,000 would receive 15% discounts on trading fees, with up to a $100,000 of FTT yielding a whopping 25% discount. [1]

FTT is closely related to the downfall of FTX, as sister entity Alameda Research was holding massive amounts of the volatile token as its primary asset. [6]

Alameda Research: Sister Entity

In 2017, SBF and other former members of Jane Street Capital, a global trading firm, founded Alameda Research, a quantitative trading firm similar to a hedge fund.[5][7] After the success experienced by Alameda Research, SBF and Wang founded FTX in 2019.[8] It is suspected that FTX was formed in attempt to supplement Alameda's trading.

Alameda's main strategy was arbitrage, or the purchase of a token from one location and sale at a higher price to another location, and collecting cryptocurrency exchange spreads. [9]

Up until the collapse, SBF was the majority owner of both FTX and Alameda, and sat as CEO until 2021 when he was replaced by Caroline Ellison, his former Jane Street Capital co-worker. [9]

Endorsements and Sponsorships

FTX was unique in the crypto exchange world as it spent extravagantly on sports and celebrity sponsorship deals, including a 19-year, $135 million dollar deal for the naming rights to the home arena of the NBA's Miami Heat franchise. [10] Other large sponsorship deals included becoming the official cryptocurrency brand of Major League Baseball. [11] Included in this deal was the adding of an FTX patch to the jersey of all Major League Baseball Umpires that began in the second half of MLB's 2021 season. FTX also reached sponsorship deals with Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 team and professional e-sports team TSM. [10] FTX also spent millions on endorsement deals with top athletes such as Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, and Shohei Ohtani. [10]

What Happened? A Timeline of the Collapse

FTX collapsed over a 10 day period in November of 2022.

Daily FTT values are provided (in USD) to illustrate the collapse (day opening values=00:00-11:59, day closing values=12:00-23:59).

The Collapse

November 2

  • Day open: $25.63 [12]
  • A leaked balance sheet from Alameda Research reveals that FTT, FTX's tokens, make up a large portion of the firm's assets. [13] Based on the leaked financial statement, CoinDesk, a crypto-focused media outlet, publishes an article sounding the alarm on FTX and Alameda Research's financial health. [14] This was cause for significant investor concern due to the close relationship between FTX and Alameda, and that FTT cannot be easily exchanged for cash. [13] For investors, this possesses massive risk due to the concentration and volatility of the token. [15]
  • Day close: $25.13 [12]

November 6

  • Day open: $22.95 [12]
  • Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, announces plans via Twitter to sell all 23 million currently held FTT tokens, worth approximately $530 million, due to recent revelations. [4][15]
  • Just minutes later, Caroline Ellison, Alameda Research CEO, offers to purchase all of Binance's FTT tokens for $22 each via Twitter. [16]
  • This announcement triggers investor speculation into the failure of FTX and subsequently, a bank run on FTT, causing a liquidity crisis for FTX. [13]
  • Day close: $22.13 [12]

November 7

  • Day open: $22.40 [12]
  • SBF states that FTX's main competitor, Binance, is spreading false rumours about the company's financial health. [17] He tweets "FTX is fine. Assets are fine." [17] Follow up tweets include claims that FTX has enough liquidity to cover client holdings, and that they do not invest client assets. [17]
  • Withdrawals following Zhao's announcement now total $6 billion. [4]
  • FTX ceases withdrawals completely, due to lack of funds available. [13]
  • Day close: $18.86 [12]

November 8

  • Day open: $14.36 [12]
  • Binance announces that a preliminary acquisition deal with FTX has been made, with Zhao tweeting "FTX asked for our help. There is a significant liquidity crunch." [15] Binance's letter of intent to purchase is dependent on a full due diligence investigation. [15]
  • SBF tweets "The important thing is that customers are protected." [13]
  • Immediately following the news of the acquisition deal, FTT prices drop by approximately 75% [14]
  • SBF deletes his "FTX is fine" tweet. [17]
  • Day close: $4.94 [12]

November 9

  • Day open: $4.32 [12]
  • Binance withdraws from the pending acquisition. [4] Zhao implies that the due diligence investigation has failed, citing recents news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and possible US agency investigations. [15]
  • SBF seeks $8 billion in emergency funding due to cover the withdrawal requests.[18]
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department open an investigation on FTX. [13]
  • Day close: $2.34 [12]

November 10

  • Day open: $3.11 [12]
  • The Securities Commission of The Bahamas releases a media statement that action has been taken to freeze assets of FTX and related parties. [15] The commission states it is aware that FTX's investor funds were mishandled. [13]
  • SBF tweets "I'm sorry. That's the biggest thing." [15]
  • Day close: $3.37 [12]

November 11

  • Day open: $3.10 [12]
  • SBF announces he will step down as FTX CEO. [4]
  • FTX files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [13] The bankruptcy filings indicate assets and liabilities ranging from $10-50 billion, and includes 130 other affiliated companies, including Alameda Research. [4]
  • John J. Ray III, a bankruptcy attorned recognized for his work on Enron's collapse, is court-appointed to replace SBF as CEO. [2]
  • Day close: $2.29 [12]

Post-Bankruptcy

November 12

  • The Wall Street Journal publishes an article about FTX's misappropriation of assets [19]. It alleges that FTX lent Alameda Research customer funds so the sister company could meet liabilities, and that senior executives from both companies were fully aware of these transactions. [19]

November 13

  • Reuters reports that approximately $1 to $2 billion of client funds have gone missing from FTX. [15] SBF claims via text messages to Reuters that money was not transferred out of the company, and that the 'missing funds' are a result of internal labelling issues. [20] He did not provide further clarification.

November 18

  • The Securities Commission of The Bahamas takes control of all assets, worth approximately $3.5 billion. [4][21] The Commission states that assets will remain in its digital custody until the Supreme Court of The Bahamas provides direction on how FTX's insolvency will be dealt with. [21]

December 12

  • SBF is arrested in The Bahamas and extradited to the United States on fraud charges related to FTX's collapse. [4]

Today

In March 2023, 5 months after the collapse, FTT tokens currently sit at around $1.30 USD. [12] Since the peak of its value in September 2021, FTT tokens have dropped in value by 98%. [22]

Key Players

Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried, commonly known as SBF, was born on March 6, 1992 in Stanford California, to a couple of Stanford Law professors.[23] He proceeded to study physics in MIT as an undergraduate and would soon intern at Jane Street Capital, a quantitative trading firm, before being hired as a full time employee.[24][25]

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

In 2017, while employed at Jane Street Capital, he founded his own quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, where he claims that his disappointment at the state of most crypto exchanges lent his inspiration to create his own.[26] He left the firm in 2019 to initiate FTX.[24] According to Forbes, at his peak he was worth $26.6 billion USD, which was tied predominantly to his shares in FTX and its respective token of FTT.[27]

While the FTX scandal is the fault of many people, the overall toxicity in corporate culture stems from the founder. SBF had more control over his company than anyone else. Even if the governance failures were not initiated by him, he was fully aware of the situation and rather than acting responsibly he acted with greed.

In December of 2022 he was charged with 8 indictments related to the collapse of FTX and, as of Feb 23, 2023, 4 more charges have been added.[28]

Gary Wang

Gary Wang, Chief Technical Officer of FTX prior to collapse.

Gary Wang studied an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at MIT. [29] Wang met SBF at Math camp, and later became roommates and fraternity members with him at MIT. [29] His professional career began as a graduate working under Google Flights, attempting to create a model that would aggregate different flight prices across hundreds of markets.[30] He would subsequently quit that job and go on to cofound FTX with SBF. [31] He served as the as the CTO of FTX, alongside being its second largest shareholder behind SBF. [30][31]

Since FTX's collapse, he has testified that he knowingly manipulated the code of FTX from 2019-2022, providing special privileges towards Alameda Research.[30]

Alameda Research

Alameda Research was a quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm founded by SBF in November of 2017, based in Hong Kong. [32] Alameda and FTX were closely associated as they shared the same founder. After the Coin Desk exposition, Alameda Research declared bankruptcy alongside FTX, following the discovery that FTX had loaned over half of their clients assets to the sister firm. [33] Additionally, the firm had a balance sheet that was leaked demonstrating that their books relied heavily on FTT, the token emitted by FTX, and even provided funds towards FTX to provide 1 billion dollars towards a client.[34] All of these factors brought into question the degree of independence of both firms, and whether they both committed cryptocurrency securities fraud.[35]

Coin Desk

Coin Desk is a cryptocurrency focused news site founded by serial entrepreneur Sahil Khan in May 2013. [36] On November 2, 2022, the news site published an article on Alameda Research's leaked balance sheet, exposing that the quantitative trading firm had a significant portion of its assets being FTT tokens. [37] Several sources credit the online news site as the catalyst of the bank run and subsequent collapse that would lead to FTX declaring bankruptcy and facing legal inquiry.[38]

Binance

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in July of 2017 and headquartered in Montrouge, France. [39] Binance was a direct competitor of FTX, and is currently the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily transactions committed by its clients. [39] Its current founder is Chinese-Canadian Changpeng Zhao with a reported net worth of $10.5 billion.[40]

On November 8, 2022 the firm offered to buy their rival FTX to help solve their liquidity problems, however they rejected it after stating issues with their financial statements and a failed due diligence investigation.[41]

John J. Ray III

John J. Ray III is the current CEO of FTX and was previously the chairman of Enron’s Creditors Recovery Corp. [2] He is accredited with recovering over $828 million dollars owed to different creditors during his time as the chairman of Enron after the bankruptcy and failure of the firm. He is an attorney who specializes in recovering funds from failed corporations. [42] Following the arrest of Bankman-Fried on December 12, Ray stated that FTX did not practice bookkeeping, and that it was "old-fashioned embezzlement." [4] Ray is currently working under a retainer of $200,000 and $1,500 per hour. [43] As of the end of 2022, FTX has reportedly paid him the equivalent of $690,000 USD. [44]

Key Stakeholders

FTX Co-Founders

The co-founders of FTX were Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and Zixiao "Gary" Wang.[5] Both individuals held active roles in FTX both prior to and at the time of it's collapse and have suffered as a result of FTX's downfall. On November 11th, 2022, the same day FTX, FTX U.S., and Alameda Research filed for bankruptcy, SBF stepped down as CEO. About a month later, SBF was arrested in the Bahamas, denied bail, and sent to the Fox Hill Prison.[45] SBF was later released from a Manhattan courthouse on a $250 million bail and has since plead guilty and awaits trial. On December 21st, Zixiao "Gary" Wang plead guilty to several charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud. [45]

FTX Investors

Several investor groups lost millions of dollars as a result of the FTX collapse. Some of the largest losses include:

  • Sequoia Capital lost a $200 million investment that peaked at $350 million. [46]
  • Singapore investment company Temasek purchased 1% of FTX at $210 million and 1.5% of FTX U.S., which are both now valued at zero dollars. [46]
  • Paradigm Investing Company is rumoured to have invested $215 million. [46]
  • The Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan invested $75 million, which is now worth zero.[46]

Besides the obvious harmful effects of these large financial losses, these investment groups have all faced public backlash and scrutiny as a result of the FTX collapse.

Cryptocurrency Market

Both cryptocurrency exchanges and investors suffered as a result of the collapse of FTX. The crypto market experienced a dramatic drop on November 9th, 2022, after a Binance spokesperson announced that the rival crypto exchange would be pulling out of it's deal to bail out FTX due to "mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations". [45] The two major cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, both dropped around 13%, which notably represented a two-year low for Bitcoin, and that same day, FTX's native token FTT dropped more than 50%.[47] Publicly traded exchanges such as Robinhood (-14%) and Coinbase (-10%) that were exposed to cryptocurrency also dropped as a result of Binance backing out of the deal to purchase FTX.[47]

U.S. Securities Exchange Commission

The fall of FTX has put pressure on the lawmakers in the US government and federal agencies to re-visit and create stronger regulations around cryptocurrency and crypto exchanges.[48] Several US lawmakers such as Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, stated that regulatory ambiguity in the U.S. allowed FTX to grow as large as it had as an offshore exchange.[48] On March 9th, 2022, nine months prior to the beginning of the FTX collapse, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that called on the US government to assess the Cryptocurrency market and analyze the benefits and risks of the market.[49]

Since the FTX collapse in late 2022, there have been no major changes to policy governing cryptocurrency in the US.

FTX Sponsorship and Endorsement Partners

Celebrity and sports endorsements and sponsorships were a key part of FTX and many of these partners now face public scrutiny and damaged reputations, financial losses, and in some cases, lawsuits. One of the most heavily impacted individuals from FTX's collapse was Tom Brady and his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots quarterback is said to have owned around $45 million in common shares of FTX and appeared in promotional advertisements with Bündchen, who is reported to have lost around $25 million in FTX common shares.[46] NBA superstar Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors also endorsed FTX and received common shares as a result of his partnership. Curry, Brady, and Bündchen along with other celebrities such as Kevin O'Leary, Shaquille O'Neal, and Shohei Ohtani have been named in a class action lawsuit that states that these celebrities endorsed FTX to "induce confidence and to drive consumers to invest in what was ultimately a Ponzi scheme." [46]

FTX also partnered with several sports franchises and organizations. Most notably, in 2021, FTX purchased the naming rights to the arena of the Miami NBA franchise Miami Heat.[10] The 19-year agreement between FTX, the Miami Heat, and Miami-Dade county was for a reported $135 million.[10] In the same year, FTX and Major League Baseball announced a partnership that among other perks, would see all MLB umpire jerseys adorn an FTX patch.[50] FTX was also involved in a long term partnerships with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, with the FTX logo being featured on the race car and drivers[51]. While these organizations were not named in the class-action lawsuit, they have all terminated their agreements with FTX and most have had to seek replacement sponsorship.[46]

Legal Proceedings

Sam Bankman-Fried

SBF claims while there were obvious financial failures, that he is not criminally liable. As of March 16, 2023, approximately $2.2 billion has been transferred from related organizations to SBF. [52] He was originally charged with eight indictments, including fraud, and money laundering.[53] By December, SBF had been charged with an additional 12-count indictment consisting of more fraudulent activity.[46] Prosecutors allege that three days before filing for bankruptcy, despite suspending customer withdrawals, SBF allowed specific customers located in the Bahamas to withdraw millions of dollars. [46] They also claimed that over 300 donations were made, illegally, to various politicians. The indictment claims that there were two individuals selected as straw donators, one of which appeared strongly Republican and the other appearing as a Democrat to help grow the companies political power.

As of January 3rd, 2022, SBF plead not-guilty to his original eight-charges, facing up to 115 years.[54] SBF is currently out on bail as of March 3, 2023, with the possibility of his bail arrangements being revised after evidence of him electronically communicating with others was revealed.[55] Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, former CEO, and CTO of Alameda, and FTX, respectively, have plead guilty, while Wang has pledged to fully cooperate with investigators. Their charges consist of various frauds and conspiracies to commit fraud.[56]

FTX Customer Lawsuit

On December 27th, 2022 prior FTX customers filed a class action lawsuit to recoup lost investment. [57] FTX had originally claimed customer accounts would be distinguished from institutional accounts, with the former being particularly vulnerable to financial hardship. The lawsuit is based on the perspective that FTX's customer assets are property of the customers rather than the company itself. The lack of regulation in the crypto industry makes it difficult for courts to recover customer losses as the industry does not have adequate controls to protect investors in the same way that the financial industry does. [58]

Looking Forward

FTX

Many investors and industry professionals are unsure of what the future holds for the platform and the larger cryptocurrency ecosystem in the wake of the recent collapse of crypto exchange FTX. [12] While the situation at FTX is undoubtedly troubling, there are still many reasons to be optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. The FTX crash is probably going to lead to a renewed emphasis on regulatory compliance in the cryptocurrency business. [12] As more investors accept cryptocurrencies as a genuine asset class, they will demand more accountability and transparency from the businesses they deal with. This may result in greater collaborations between licensed financial institutions and cryptocurrency companies, as well as more regulatory oversight.

The FTX crash is also likely to hasten the trend of digital assets being held in one's own possession. [12] Exchanges like FTX might be convenient and liquid, but there is a major counterparty risk involved. Individual investors can have more control over their cryptocurrency holdings and lower their risk of losing money in the event of exchange outages or cyberattacks by keeping their own private keys.

Going ahead, it's also important to keep in mind that FTX was only one participant in a cryptocurrency ecosystem that is continuously changing and becoming more varied. [12] Although it was a well-known business with a substantial valuation, there are other companies and organizations developing cutting-edge new applications for blockchain technology. We can anticipate seeing more prosperous startups emerge as the cryptocurrency market continues to develop and more established businesses utilize blockchain technology.

Ultimately, the demise of FTX serves as a warning that cryptocurrency investment entails considerable risks and demands extensive due diligence [12]. It is also evidence of the crypto community's tenacity and inventiveness, which have seen them through numerous difficulties in their brief existence. As time goes on, we may anticipate ongoing innovation and expansion in the cryptocurrency sector, driven by a mix of investor demand, regulatory scrutiny, and technical advancement.

FTX is now considered worthless by one of its key investors, hedge fund firm Brevan Howard. [59] The report cites a letter from Brevan Howard to its investors, in which the firm stated that FTX's valuation had become "entirely disconnected" from its financial performance and that it had written down the value of its investment to zero.[59] The report also notes that FTX had recently faced regulatory scrutiny in several countries, including the United States and China[59].

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder SBF is facing four new criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business[60]. The filing also includes new information about SBF's political contributions, stating that he knowingly donated over $25,000 in a year by a corporation, which exceeds the limit[60]. The new charges could expose Bankman-Fried to a possible additional 40 years in prison if convicted[60]. He pleaded not guilty to the previous eight counts of fraud and conspiracy in early January and remains free on a $250 million bond[60].

Gary Wang

Gary Wang, the cofounder of FTX, has pleaded guilty to fraud and is said to be cooperating with prosecutors. [61] He was charged with a "multi-year scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX." [61] Unlike his former business partner, SBF, Wang has largely disappeared from public view since FTX's collapse. [61] SBF has said that he and Wang were initially on the same page after the implosion but that Wang abruptly left and "mostly stopped working." [61]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Smith, Timothy (January 5, 2023). "FTX: An overview of the exchange and its collapse". Investopedia. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Napolitano, Elizabeth (November 11, 2022). "From Enron to FTX: Wall Street turnaround titan John J Ray III takes reins from FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried". CoinDesk. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Associated Press (November 14, 2022). "The downfall of FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried sends shockwaves through the crypto world". NPR News. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Reiff, Nathan (January 4, 2023). "The collapse of FTX: What went wrong with the crypto exchange?". Investopedia. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "FTX Ventures Investor Profile". PitchBook. n.d. Retrieved 03/26/2023. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Shafiq, Hassan (2022). "What is FTX Token (FTT)? Features, Tokenomics and Price Prediction". Coinmarketcap.com. Retrieved March 21st 2023. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  7. ↑ Goldstein, Matthew (November 19th 2022). "How FTX's Sister Firm Brought the Crypto Exchange Down". nytimes.com. Retrieved March 23rd 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  8. ↑ Q.ai (December 13th 2022). "What Happened To Crypto Giant FTX? A Detailed Summary Of What We Actually Know So Far". forbes.com. Retrieved March 23rd, 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ge Huang, Vicky; Osipovich, Alexander; Kowsmann, Patricia (November 11, 2022). "FTX tapped into customer accounts to fund risky bets, setting up its downfall". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Kelley, Lora (November 10th, 2022). "FTX Spent Big on Sports Sponsorships. What Happens Now?". nytimes.com. Retrieved March 21st, 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  11. ↑ MLB (June 23rd, 2021). "MLB, FTX cryptocurrency exchange partner". mlb.com. Retrieved March 21st, 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  12. ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 12.15 12.16 12.17 12.18 12.19 "FTX Token: FTT". Crypto. n.d. Retrieved March 22, 2023. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":8" defined multiple times with different content
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 Zahn, Max (December 13, 2022). "A timeline of cryptocurrency exchange FTX's historic collapse". ABC News. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Rubio-Licht, Nat (November 10, 2022). "From powerhouse to plummeting: Here's a timeline of FTX's collapse". Protocol. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 Olinga, Luc (November 20, 2022). "Timeline of cryptocurrency exchange FTX's epic collapse". TheStreet. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  16. ↑ Young, Sage D.; Keoun, Bradley (November 15, 2022). "The epic collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange: A crypto markets timeline". CoinDesk. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Partz, Helen (November 9, 2022). "FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried removes 'assets are fine' flood from Twitter". CoinTelegraph. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  18. ↑ Jin, Berber; Brown, Eliot; Chung, Juliet (November 9, 2022). "FTX needs $8 billion, Bankman-Fried tells investors". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Michaels, Dave; Yu, Elaine; Ostroff, Caitlin (November 12, 2022). "Alameda, FTX executives are said to have known FTX was using customer funds". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  20. ↑ Berwick, Angus (November 13, 2022). "Exclusive: At least $1 billion of client funds missing at failed crypto firm FTX". Reuters. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 McCurdy, Will (December 30, 2022). "Bahamas Securities Commission confirms it has $3.5b in FTX assets". Decrypt. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  22. ↑ "FTX: FTT". CoinGecko. n.d. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  23. ↑ Ehrlich, S. (2022, April 21). Meet the world's richest 29-year-old: How Sam Bankman-fried made a record fortune in the crypto frenzy. Forbes. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/10/06/the-richest-under-30-in-the-world-all-thanks-to-crypto/?sh=6242271d3f4d
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Rosenberg, E. (2023, February 18). Who is Sam Bankman-fried? Investopedia. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/who-is-sam-bankman-fried-6830274#:~:text=highly%20educated%20family.-,Bankman%2DFried%20graduated%20from%20the%20Massachusetts%20Institute%20of%20Technology%20(MIT,full%2Dtime%20employee%20after%20graduating.
  25. ↑ Solving the puzzle of Global Markets. Home :: Jane Street. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.janestreet.com/
  26. ↑ Ehrlich, S. (2022, April 21). Meet the world's richest 29-year-old: How Sam Bankman-fried made a record fortune in the crypto frenzy. Forbes. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/10/06/the-richest-under-30-in-the-world-all-thanks-to-crypto/?sh=6242271d3f4d
  27. ↑ Forbes Magazine. (n.d.). Sam Bankman-Fried. Forbes. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/profile/sam-bankman-fried/?sh=4359d1164449
  28. ↑ Scannell, K., Valle, L. del, & Schouten, F. (2023, February 23). FTX founder Sam Bankman-fried indicted on new criminal charges. CNN. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/investing/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-new-charges/index.html#:~:text=Bankman%2DFried%20was%20charged%20in,or%20sale%20of%20a%20derivative.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Luo, X. (2022, December 22). Who is Gary Wang, the mysterious co-founder of FTX and Alameda? CoinDesk Latest Headlines RSS. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/11/22/who-is-gary-wang-the-mysterious-co-founder-of-ftx-and-alameda-research/
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Nolan, B. (n.d.). Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, is cooperating with prosecutors. here's what we know about the key player in the failed Crypto Empire. Business Insider. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.businessinsider.com/gary-wang-ftx-mysterious-cofounder-crypto-2022-12
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Forbes Magazine. (n.d.). Gary Wang. Forbes. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/profile/gary-wang-1/?sh=217f578d519d
  32. ↑ Nwodo, B., Keller, J., Carruthers, H., Gadzhikurbanova, E., Nosonov, E., Ruban, E., A, R., Jhaveri, N., Lenets, M., & Filatov, D. (n.d.). Alameda research - wiki. Golden. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://golden.com/wiki/Alameda_Research-9944XGD
  33. ↑ News, J. M. B. (2022, November 14). FTX files for bankruptcy, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigns. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/ftx-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-11668176869
  34. ↑ What is Alameda Research? Sam Bankman-Fried's secretive proprietary trading firm is Major Defi Investor. Online Trading with Smart Investment App. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://capital.com/alameda-research-what-is-sam-bankman-fried-trading-firm
  35. ↑ Sigalos, M. K. (2022, November 16). From $32 billion to criminal investigations: How Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire vanished overnight. CNBC. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/15/how-sam-bankman-frieds-ftx-alameda-empire-vanished-overnight.html
  36. ↑ Shakil Khan - co-founder - prima materia | linkedin. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://uk.linkedin.com/in/shakilkhan
  37. ↑ Allison, I. (2022, November 9). Divisions in Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire Blur on his trading Titan Alameda's balance sheet. CoinDesk Latest Headlines RSS. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/02/divisions-in-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-empire-blur-on-his-trading-titan-alamedas-balance-sheet/
  38. ↑ Darcy, O. (2022, November 28). How a scoop by a little-known crypto site led to the fall of Sam Bankman-fried and implosion of FTX | CNN business. CNN. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/24/media/coindesk-scoop-ftx-reliable-sources/index.html
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Hyatt, J. (2022, April 14). The wealthiest person in crypto climbs into world's 20 richest. Forbes. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2022/04/05/the-wealthiest-person-in-crypto-climbs-into-worlds-20-richest/
  40. ↑ Forbes Magazine. (n.d.). Changpeng Zhao. Forbes. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/profile/changpeng-zhao/
  41. ↑ MacKenzie Sigalos, K. R. (2022, November 10). Binance backs out of FTX rescue, leaving the crypto exchange on the brink of collapse. CNBC. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/09/binance-backs-out-of-ftx-rescue-leaving-the-crypto-exchange-on-the-brink-of-collapse.html
  42. ↑ Hill, J. (2022, November 11). Enron's liquidator to oversee FTX's massive crypto bankruptcy. Bloomberg Tax. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://news.bloombergtax.com/crypto/enrons-liquidator-to-oversee-ftxs-massive-crypto-bankruptcy
  43. ↑ Oliver, J., Indap, S., & Chipolina, S. (2022, November 20). FTX businesses owe more than $3BN to largest creditors. Subscribe to read | Financial Times. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.ft.com/content/5d826ca9-389e-41ec-a38b-da43211da974
  44. ↑ Nelson, D. (2023, February 7). New FTX CEO charged Crypto Exchange $690K last year: Hearing. CoinDesk Latest Headlines RSS. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/02/06/new-ftx-ceo-charged-crypto-exchange-690000-last-year-hearing/
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 Mack, Eric (February 24th, 2023). "The Fall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried: A Timeline". cnet.com. Retrieved March 22nd, 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 46.4 46.5 46.6 46.7 46.8 Silverman, Sam (January 25th, 2023). "From Tom Brady to Kevin O'Leary – See Who Lost Big in the Wake of the FTX Crypto Collapse". entrepreneur.com. Retrieved March 21st 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":12" defined multiple times with different content
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Associated Press (November 9th, 2022). "Binance pulls out of FTX merger, sending cryptocurrency prices plunging". theguardian.com. Retrieved March 23rd 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 De, Nikhilesh (November 14th 2022). "FTX's Failure Is Sparking a Massive Regulatory Response". coindesk.com. Retrieved March 23rd 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  49. ↑ Browne, Ryan (March 9th 2022). "Biden just put out an executive order on cryptocurrencies — here's everything that's in it". cnbc.com. Retrieved March 23rd 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  50. ↑ Major League Baseball (June 23rd 2021). "MLB, FTX cryptocurrency exchange partner". mlb.com. Retrieved March 23rd 2023. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  51. ↑ Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (September 2021). "FTX and Mercedes F1 Team Announce Long-Term Partnership". mercedesamgf1.com. Retrieved March 23rd 2023. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  52. ↑ Reuters (March 16, 2023). "FTX transferred $2.2 bln to Bankman-Fried via related entities, new managers say". Reuters. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  53. ↑ Levine, Sam (February 23, 2023). "FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried charged with 12 counts in new indictment". The Gaurdian.
  54. ↑ "FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty in fraud case". CBC. January 03, 2023. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  55. ↑ Stempel, Jonathan (March 20, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried, U.S. prosecutors near new bail agreement". Reuters.
  56. ↑ Mackenzie, Sigalos (December 22, 2022). "FTX's Gary Wang, Alameda's Caroline Ellison plead guilty to federal charges, cooperating with prosecutors". CNBC.
  57. ↑ Hals, Tom; Knauth, Dietrich (December 27, 2022). "FTX customers file class action to lay claim to dwindling assets". Reuters. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  58. ↑ Einis, John (November 15, 2022). "Lack of Regulation Holds Back Crypto Adoption". PaymentsJournal.
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 59.2 Guardian News and Media. (2022, November 10). Cryptocurrency exchange FTX now worthless, says key investor. The Guardian. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/10/cryptocurrency-exchange-ftx-now-worthless-says-key-investor
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 ABC News Network. (n.d.). ABC News. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://abcnews.go.com/Business/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-faces-4-new/story?id=97415611
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 61.3 Nolan, B. (n.d.). Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, is cooperating with prosecutors. here's what we know about the key player in the failed Crypto Empire. Business Insider. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://www.businessinsider.com/gary-wang-ftx-mysterious-cofounder-crypto-2022-12
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