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 SBF was arrested in December 2022, and his bail was revoked due to alleged witness tampering.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.

Finance

$80M Deal Gone Wrong: Alameda Research, Reef Finance Spar Over Unloaded Tokens

A scuttled deal between Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research and DeFi upstart Reef Finance offers an inside look at the wild world of OTC trading.

By William FoxleyMar 16, 2021, 2:15 p.m. EDT

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Markets

FTX in Talks to Sponsor Miami Heat's NBA Arena: Report

The talks are another sign that crypto is breaking into the mainstream in 2021.

By Nikhilesh DeMar 12, 2021, 11:56 p.m. EST

FTX is reportedly in talks to rename American Airlines Arena, home of the NBA's Miami Heat.

Markets

CEOs of Coinbase, FTX and Binance Top Blockchain Billionaire's List

According to Hurun Report's 2020 ranking, there are 17 blockchain billionaires, 11 of whom were new additions in 2020.

By Jamie CrawleyMar 4, 2021, 10:21 a.m. EST

Finance

Coinbase: DeFi Could Hurt Us and US Regulations Make It Hard to Fight Back

Caught between megabanks and food-branded DEXs, how does Coinbase compete?

By Brady DaleFeb 25, 2021, 5:34 p.m. EST

Videos

We’d Be Crazy Not to Look Into That: FTX’s CEO on Whether to Take FTX Public

Sam Bankman-Fried of Alameda Research and FTX, reacting to Coinbase’s progress toward becoming a public company, discusses his interest in possibly following suit. The 28-year-old CEO also explained Alameda’s $40M round in Oxygen, which will add a financial layer to a popular maps app.

Feb 25, 2021, 12:28 p.m. EST