FTX Financial News

Sam Bankman-Fried instructed FTX's former general counsel Can Sun to "come up" with any legal explanation for the $8 billion hole in Alameda Research's books, according to Sun's testimony in court on Oct. 19.

FTX cryptocurrency empire, another reckoning for digital currencies is underway: Governments around the world are intensifying their crackdown on sources of funding for terrorist groups — including crypto — after Hamas’s bloody attack in Israel that claimed more than 1,400 lives and led to retaliatory attacks that have killed thousands. Crypto is a small but deadly slice of overall terrorism funding: Research by analytics firm Elliptic in 2021 estimated that wallets linked to Hamas’ military wing had received more than $7.3 million in crypto, including around $40,000 in Dogecoin, the dog-themed memecoin favored by Elon Musk. These sums aren’t much compared with the $100 million that Iran sends annually to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups or with Qatar’s $360 million in aid for Gaza, or the approximately $300 million Hamas gets via business taxation and extortion estimated by the Washington Institute’s Matthew Levitt.

In the fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, prosecutors have requested the judge inform the jury that the defendant’s assertion that he is an effective altruist should not serve as a legitimate defense. Bankman-Fried faces allegations of misappropriating billions of dollars from FTX customers for personal purposes, such as political contributions, real estate and investments.

The courtroom drama unfolding around FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has all the ingredients of a binge-worthy Netflix series, replete with a cast of shady characters and a plot that thickens with each passing day. Among the highlights were SBF's lofty presidential ambitions and a staggering $100-150 million bribe to Chinese officials, which add a surreal twist to the narrative.

Sam Bankman-Fried was in constant contact with prominent political and financial figures in New York City in the months leading up to the collapse of FTX and his subsequent arrest.

A proposed settlement filed on October 16 could see FTX customers receive the majority of their lost funds by the second quarter of 2024.

Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam “SBF’ Sam Bankman-Fried conducted their cross-examination of Nishad Singh, pressing the former engineering director on events leading to Alameda Research using funds from the crypto exchange.

Customers of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and FTX.US are looking forward to the possibility of reclaiming more than 90% of their assets as part of an amended proposal. 

Customers of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and FTX US could see over 90% of assets returned to them by the end of the second quarter of 2024 after a proposed settlement was reached between FTX creditors and debtors.

Nishad Singh, the former engineering director at now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, has reportedly said he “hopes for no jail time” as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

On Oct. 11, Caroline Ellison, the former head of the now-defunct Alameda Research, informed a U.S. court that she received instructions from FTX's co-founder and CEO, Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried, to sell Bitcoin (BTC) if its price remained above $20,000. 

The FTX bankruptcy estate has staked over 5.5 million Solana (SOL) tokens, valued at a substantial $122 million, from one of the exchange’s main Solana blockchain wallets.

Former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh reportedly told a New York courtroom that former CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried had a habit of deciding on purchases through Alameda Research by himself.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has asked a United States judge for long-release Adderall, saying he’s finding it hard to concentrate properly during his criminal trial.

Caroline Ellison wasn't doing a good job leading Alameda Research in 2022, and she did not hide it. Pieces of her personal notes shared as evidence by prosecutors on Sam Bankman-Fried's trial revealed details about the trading firm's struggles and its CEO's desire to resign weeks and months before the collapse of FTX.

Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried are seeking to bring up certain information from the crypto exchange’s terms of service during witness testimonies.

Decentralized exchange (DEX) THORSwap has resumed operations after briefly going into maintenance mode due to detecting illicit funds on its platform.

Research by blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic has revealed potential links between the FTX hacking incident last November, which resulted in an estimated $400 million loss, and Russian-based cybercrime groups.

The ongoing trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has uncovered a series of explosive revelations in the form of testimonies from former key FTX and Alameda Research executives. 

A 75-minute secretly recorded audio clip of Caroline Ellison has revealed the exact moment 15 former Alameda Research staff found out the hedge fund was “borrowing” user funds from FTX. 

According to former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, a single tweet from Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao contributed to the failure of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.