{"id":16437,"date":"2023-01-13T22:40:36","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T22:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/disgraced-ftx-co-founder-awaits-trial-passes-time-playing-video-games-and-blogging-on-his-new-substack-newsletter-bitcoin-news\/"},"modified":"2023-01-13T22:40:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T22:40:36","slug":"disgraced-ftx-co-founder-awaits-trial-passes-time-playing-video-games-and-blogging-on-his-new-substack-newsletter-bitcoin-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/disgraced-ftx-co-founder-awaits-trial-passes-time-playing-video-games-and-blogging-on-his-new-substack-newsletter-bitcoin-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Disgraced FTX Co-Founder Awaits Trial, Passes Time Playing Video Games and Blogging on His New Substack Newsletter \u2013 Bitcoin News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b>
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The former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has published a Substack newsletter on Jan. 12, 2023, and the first post is titled \u201cFTX Pre-Mortem Overview.\u201d In the post, SBF maintains that an \u201cextreme, quick, targeted crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance made Alameda insolvent.\u201d The blog post does not mention the allegations made by his former co-workers, ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang. The disgraced former FTX executive also conducted a one-on-one interview at his home in Palo Alto with Puck News reporter Theodore Schleifer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former FTX CEO Fights Fraud Charges, Maintains Innocence in New Substack Post<\/h2>\n

The co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried<\/a> (SBF), has been more vocal in recent times since his arrest<\/a> and initial court appearances<\/a> before a Southern District of New York judge. On January 12, 2023, SBF began a Substack newsletter called \u201cSBF\u2019s Substack\u201d and published his first post<\/a> about the fall of FTX and Alameda Research, the quantitative trading firm that he founded in 2019. In the first blog post, SBF insists that he did not steal any customer funds.<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/t.co\/XVd0BPHxEU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SBF (@SBF_FTX) January 12, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t steal funds, and I certainly didn\u2019t stash billions away,\u201d the former CEO of FTX wrote. SBF also emphasized that he did not \u201crun Alameda for the past few years.\u201d He stated that three factors contributed to the fall of FTX and Alameda, including Alameda\u2019s balance sheet swelling and Alameda\u2019s failure to \u201csufficiently hedge its market exposure.\u201d Additionally, SBF believes that the final nail in the coffin for FTX was driven by Binance CEO Changpeng \u2018CZ\u2019 Zhao. In the Substack blog post, SBF said:<\/p>\n

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In November 2022, an extreme, quick, targeted crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance made Alameda insolvent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Much of SBF\u2019s Substack blog post is similar to previous interviews he gave before his arrest. There is little new information in the blog post in comparison to what the FTX co-founder said during his media tour<\/a> in mid-November 2022. While SBF insists that he \u201cdidn\u2019t steal funds,\u201d the former FTX executive does not address the allegations<\/a> made by his former co-workers, ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, who have reported financial misconduct and the commingling of FTX customer funds with Alameda Research starting in 2019.<\/p>\n

SBF Reaches Out to New CEO to Lend a Hand But Remains Isolated and Lonely<\/h2>\n

SBF also mentioned that after transferring FTX US to John J. Ray III<\/a>, the exchange was still solvent. \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous that FTX US users haven\u2019t been made whole and gotten their funds back yet,\u201d SBF commented in his blog post. The former FTX CEO, who has been disgraced, also discussed his dealings with the new FTX CEO Ray with Puck News reporter Theodore Schleifer<\/a>. The Puck reporter met SBF<\/a> at his parents\u2019 home in Palo Alto, California, where SBF greeted him wearing his government-issued ankle bracelet. SBF\u2019s German shepherd \u201cSandor\u201d was also present at the house.<\/p>\n

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I wrote the other day that Sam Bankman-Fried believes deeply that the traditional crisis comms textbook is dead.<\/p>\n

The decision to release this says it all better than I could. https:\/\/t.co\/gAVcmy08sK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) January 12, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Schleifer reported that SBF reached out to the new FTX CEO John Ray \u201csix or seven times\u201d to offer his help. The Puck reporter noted that Ray has \u201ckept his distance\u201d from the former FTX CEO. The interview highlights that SBF is lonely and isolated and he\u2019s \u201crelieved to have regained access to the Internet,\u201d Schleifer reported. The Puck reporter had known SBF before the exchange\u2019s demise as they chatted in the fall of 2020. Schleifer wrote \u201cwe were both interested in the effective altruism movement\u201d and they would \u201ctext every few months about politics or philanthropy.\u201d The interview was two-and-a-half hours long and SBF discussed his hardship of being a vegan when he was in jail in The Bahamas<\/a> and eating a lot of peanut butter.<\/p>\n

While awaiting his October 3, 2023 trial in the Southern District of New York and facing eight counts of financial fraud and conspiracy charges, SBF<\/a> continues to play \u201clots of video games.\u201d According to Schleifer, SBF\u2019s game of choice these days is \u201cStorybrook Brawl,\u201d but the disgraced FTX co-founder does not use his gaming handle or speak with other players. Despite playing video games<\/a>, \u201cit doesn\u2019t really fully distract from what\u2019s going on,\u201d SBF told Schleifer.<\/p>\n

Although Schleifer notes \u201cthat there are not many real people for [SBF] to talk to anymore,\u201d the interview does not address the accusations<\/a> made by Ellison and Wang. The Puck interview briefly mentions that both co-workers have \u201cflipped on [SBF]\u201d and that FTX\u2019s director of engineering<\/a>, \u201c[Nishad Singh], is expected to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nTags in this story
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alameda<\/a>, Allegations<\/a>, Binance<\/a>, Blog<\/a>, Caroline Ellison<\/a>, ceo<\/a>, Changpeng \u201cCZ\u201d Zhao<\/a>, Charges<\/a>, co-workers<\/a>, conspiracy<\/a>, Court<\/a>, disgraced<\/a>, effective altruism<\/a>, Executive<\/a>, Fraud<\/a>, ftx<\/a>, Funds<\/a>, game<\/a>, Gary Wang<\/a>, hedge<\/a>, insolvent<\/a>, interview<\/a>, isolate<\/a>, jail<\/a>, John J. Ray III<\/a>, Judge<\/a>, lonely<\/a>, market<\/a>, peanut butter<\/a>, Philanthropy<\/a>, post<\/a>, Puck<\/a>, Puck News<\/a>, Sam Bankman-Fried<\/a>, sbf<\/a>, Southern District of New York<\/a>, Storybrook Brawl<\/a>, Substack<\/a>, Substack newsletter<\/a>, The Bahamas<\/a>, Theodore Schleifer<\/a>, Trial<\/a>, vegan<\/a>, Video<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What do you think about SBF\u2019s efforts to clear his name? Share your thoughts in the comments below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\nJamie Redman <\/h6>\n

\nJamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

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Image Credits<\/b>: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons<\/em><\/p>\n

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