SBF Trial: The latest updates from the FTX collapse’s courtroom drama

Sam Bankman-Fried is in court docket for alleged fraud whereas main crypto alternate FTX. Right here’s our newest protection because the case continues.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of collapsed crypto alternate FTX, is on trial for alleged fraud and conspiracy as he led the corporate’s swift rise and implosion. Over the course of a number of weeks, his attorneys will attempt to preserve his innocence in opposition to a wide-ranging collection of accusations, from securities fraud to cash laundering, to which he has universally pleaded not responsible.

Our resident crypto expert Jacquelyn Melinek will probably be tackling the trial on the bottom, because the highest-profile legal case tied to the business marches on inside the Manhattan Federal Courtroom. Between stints within the locked-down courtroom, she’ll be posting to X, as well.

For these unfamiliar with the case, her breakdown of how FTX went from the third-largest crypto exchange valued at a peak of $32 billion to chapter will get you on top of things.

You may also observe alongside along with her and the TechCrunch crew’s protection within the Chain Reaction newsletter, which drops Thursdays at 12 pm PT, and the Chain Reaction podcast, which is able to hit your feed each Thursday.

Find out how to observe the SBF trial

The trial itself is predicted to final no less than six weeks, having kicked off with jury selection on Tuesday, October 3. From there, entry to the proceedings is restricted, as no units are allowed; reviews are being bodily put collectively inside the courtroom.

Past our each day protection, extra experience and commentary will reside on TechCrunch+. There, you’ll find tales like this in-depth breakdown of what to expect from both sides of the SBF case, the place the prosecution and protection might achieve floor or fall quick of their arguments and what the takeaways were from the opening arguments.

SBF trial: What we’ve discovered within the first week

As anticipated, the opening statements within the SBF trial have been spicy. The prosecution painted an image of an empire “constructed on lies” and made some extent to point out precise footage of SBF alongside wealthy and highly effective figures for instance the height of his energy and affect previous to FTX’s implosion.

“This man stole billions of {dollars} from hundreds of individuals,” prosecutor Thane Rehn informed the court docket. “He defrauded subtle traders and lenders, and he emptied the accounts of abnormal clients, too. He purchased himself wealth, energy and affect.”

The protection, alternatively, depicted SBF and his colleagues as in over their heads, with out ill-will as FTX collapsed round them.

“Sam and his colleagues have been constructing the airplane as they have been flying it,” protection lawyer Mark Cohen mentioned. “That they had to determine how one can navigate a world the place they have been operating FTX, constructing out its methods, coping with hacking threats, managing the credit score danger of their clients, managing tons of of staff, all whereas build up their precise alternate.”

Read a recap of the prosecution and defense’s full arguments here.

FTX’s co-founder and CTO Gary Wang testified Thursday on the extent to which Alameda Analysis was used for no matter functions he and SBF noticed match. The crypto buying and selling agency, in keeping with Wang, pulled funding immediately from FTX clients, whose transactions can be funneled towards Alameda after which directed elsewhere.

Check here for our rundown of Wang’s testimony so far, ensuing from a responsible plea in December 2022. Wang’s testimony is about to conclude on Friday.

Thursday additionally introduced in testimony from Matt Huang, co-founder and managing associate at crypto funding agency Paradigm. That agency invested $278 million in FTX throughout 2021 and 2022, and is a part of a class-action lawsuit accusing it and others of defrauding clients by selling FTX.

His testimony centered round being left uninformed about FTX’s utilization of buyer cash to maintain the Alameda Analysis afloat, a observe that Huang says would have halted his involvement. The complete breakdown of his testimony on his relationship with FTX, stretching again to 2019, can be found right here.

We additionally received a take a look at the composition of the SBF trial’s jury, which ranges from a prepare conductor to a retired funding banker who attended Stanford College. You possibly can take heed to a special joint episode of our podcasts Equity and Chain Reaction to get a greater sense of the vibe between the jurors and the remainder of the court docket.

Earlier within the week, we received affirmation that at no point did the U.S. government offer SBF a plea offer.

For a full rundown of our protection of the SBF trial, examine beneath: