Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried, once a pivotal figure in the cryptocurrency industry, was convicted in November 2023 of committing fraud and conspiracy for stealing billions of dollars of money belonging to customers of his FTX crypto exchange, funneling the money to Alameda Research, his hedge fund. FTX had been one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges before its demise, a major player in derivatives trading including perpetual futures. The company's undoing was spurred by a CoinDesk scoop in November 2022 showing Alameda's balance sheet was mysteriously full of the FTT token issued by FTX – calling into question both Alameda and FTX's financial stability. The Bahamas-based company filed for bankruptcy nine days after the story. Before his downfall, SBF (as the former billionaire is commonly known as) had been a leading figure in crypto, pushing for regulation of the industry in the U.S. He was a major political donor and the public face of effective altruism, a movement geared toward maximizing the amount of good done by philanthropy. SBF was arrested in December 2022, and his bail was revoked due to alleged witness tampering. His trial began in October 2023, and he was convicted on Nov. 2, 2023, a year to the day after the CoinDesk story that caused his crypto empire to crumble.

Videos

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on $420M Raise, LedgerX Acquisition

Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX has finalized acquiring regulated futures exchange LedgerX. This follows last week’s meme-friendly raise of over $420 million from 69 investors and a Solana-based NFT marketplace launch earlier this month. FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried shares insights into the crypto empire’s latest developments, discussing what lies ahead.

Oct 27, 2021

Finance

Red Sox Legend David Ortiz Signs Multiyear FTX Deal

The retired player will serve as an ambassador for the exchange in the latest of its long list of sports-related sponsorship deals.

By Eli TanOct 27, 2021

Retired Red Sox player David Ortiz (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Videos

FTX Raises Over $420M in Series B-1 Funding Round

Following a $900 million mega-round earlier this year, Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX has raised $420,690,000 in a Series B-1 funding round, valuing the firm at $25 billion. Sixty-nine investors, including BlackRock and Tiger Global, joined the fast-growing crypto conglomerate.

Oct 21, 2021

Finance

SBF, The Weeknd Join Board of Tom Brady’s NFT Platform

Brady is already an investor in FTX; Sam Bankman-Fried will now be on the board of Autograph.

By Helene BraunOct 21, 2021

Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd (Leon Bennett/WireImage)

Finance

FTX Raises $420,690,000

It’s a nice Series B-1 for Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange following a $900 million mega-round earlier this year.

By Danny NelsonOct 21, 2021

Videos

FTX.US Launches Collectibles Arm in Boost to Solana-Based NFTs

FTX.US, the U.S. wing of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire, is launching an NFT marketplace, FTX NFTs, which will allow users to trade, mint, auction and authenticate Solana-based NFTs. Plans to support Ethereum NFTs are in the works.

Oct 12, 2021

Finance

Sam Bankman-Fried Hands Control of Crypto Trading Firm Alameda to Two Deputies

The crypto billionaire had already shifted most of his time to running FTX. Caroline Ellison and Sam Trabucco will continue running the show at Alameda Research.

By Danny NelsonOct 12, 2021