Sam Bankman-Fried

Bahama homes were purchased with FTX corporate funds • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in bankruptcy, Crypto, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, SBF, StartupsNo Comments

A new bankruptcy filing, first reported by CNBC, shows that FTX’s corporate funds were used to purchase homes in the Bahamas among other personal items. The details arise less than a week after the now infamous crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy – a decision that founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said he regrets. FTX’s new CEO, Enron wind-down veteran John J. Ray III, said in the filing that he never in his career had “seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.” “From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented,” Ray said in the filing. The document states that corporate funds of the FTX group were used to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors. Ray added that “certain real estate” was recorded in the personal names of employees and advisors, and “there does not appear to be documentation for certain of these transactions as loans.” The newly-installed chief executive makes it clear that he’s not blaming all FTX employees for the potential mishandling of funds. “Although the investigation has only begun and must run its course, it is my view based on the information obtained to date, that many of the employees of the FTX Group, including some of its senior executives, were not aware of the shortfalls or potential commingling digital assets.” If that possible lack of blame extends to the real estate transactions is not clear. He adds that current and former employees are some of the people most hurt by FTX, and that “these are many of the same people whose work will be necessary to ensure the maximization of value for all stakeholders going forward.” FTX’s downfall began last week after Binance backed out of a deal to acquire the crypto exchange as a result of a due diligence process. News reports that FTX was mishandling funds and under investigation soon bloomed into the company filing for bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, claims that he is still hoping to raise a $8 billion lifeline for the company. “Everyone goes around pretending that perception reflects reality, it doesn’t,” Bankman-Fried said in a Twitter conversation with Vox reporter Kelsey Piper earlier this week. “Some of this decade’s greatest heroes will never be known, and some of its most beloved people are basically shams.”

Long live the vibe capitalist! • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 14, 2022Posted in Crypto, diversity, EC Cryptocurrency, EC News Analysis, EC venture capital, FTX Bankruptcy, Sam Bankman-Fried, Startups, VentureNo Comments

Last week, many investors were left with egg on their faces after FTX’s valuation went from $32 billion to zero in a New York minute. VCs were left wondering, “What the hell happened?” And they’re still wondering, “Wait — did I do something wrong? Is it me?” Why yes, actually, it is you. People are led to believe that, for the most part, investors are clear-eyed, data-driven people who carefully explore the financial underpinnings of the companies they invest in. There is little room for emotions like jealousy or the fear of missing out (FOMO). Of course not. And these people investing billions of dollars surely have their eye on the ball, right? Well, not exactly. In a surprisingly honest tweet today, former SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure, who stepped down in late January after a reported battle over pay, had this to say about the FTX fiasco: I have been reflecting personally on the whole FTX fiasco and it taught me one more time that we should NEVER invest because of FOMO and we should always 100% understand what we are investing in. I totally failed here on both. — Marcelo Claure (@marceloclaure) November 12, 2022 This is from the same guy whose former firm also invested significant money in WeWork, another spectacular example of poor judgment on the part of investors. Steve Jobs once said, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.” At the time, Jobs was talking about building products, but evidently, this also applies to the people funding the startup ecosystem. While it’s good that Claure was so open, honest and reflective, perhaps we should all remember that investors are not any smarter than anyone else. They’re human after all, and their classic lack of self-awareness combined with venture enthusiasts’ myopia is perhaps the problem. Most investors and the founders in whom they invest are white men, and you get double points if you went to Stanford, Harvard, or MIT. These folks are handed the mantle of genius in all that they do and touch. The next Warren Buffet is rarely if ever, predicted to be a Black man.

FTX files for bankruptcy, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried steps down • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 11, 2022Posted in Crypto, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, SBFNo Comments

The once-third-largest crypto exchange FTX has fallen from prestige in the past week and has now announced it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned from his role, and Enron turnaround veteran John J. Ray III has been appointed as the new CEO. About 130 additional affiliated companies — including FTX US and Alameda Research — have also begun the bankruptcy process, FTX said in a statement. The exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, and its U.S. options platform LedgerX, alongside FTX Australia and FTX Express Pay are not included in the proceedings, it stated. “The immediate relief of Chapter 11 is appropriate to provide the FTX Group the opportunity to assess its situation and develop a process to maximize recoveries for stakeholders,” Ray said in a statement. This news comes after a week-long collapse of the FTX empire as the company attempted to keep itself afloat, seeking out acquisitions and fresh capital from market players. On Tuesday, the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance signed a letter of intent to acquire FTX. But just a bit over 24 hours later, Binance backed out of the plan after reviewing FTX’s structure and books. “Our hope was to be able to support FTX’s customers to provide liquidity, but the issues are beyond our control or ability to help,” Binance said on Wednesday. “As a result of corporate due diligence, as well as the latest news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged U.S. agency investigations, we have decided that we will not pursue the potential acquisition of [FTX],” Binance said in a tweet. On Thursday, Bankman-Fried said in a series of tweets that FTX International was looking to raise liquidity and was in talks with a “number of players.” He added that any money raised and existing collateral “will go straight to users.” FTX has fallen from being the third largest crypto exchange to 62nd, according to CoinMarketCap data. FTX US division is 54th. The third largest crypto exchange is now Kraken, behind Coinbase and Binance. This story is developing and may be updated as new information arises.

It’s not a rug pull if it’s an accident • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 11, 2022Posted in Equity podcast, ftx binance, meta, Sam Bankman-Fried, Startups, tech layoffsNo Comments

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. We thought that last week was a lot. It was, but this week was somehow more. More chaotic, rapid-fire change at a number of massive tech companies kept us on our toes. So, while our beloved co-host Natasha was out, we couldn’t do the recording down a set of hands, so we brought Becca aboard with Mary Ann and Alex. The list of news was so long that we were cutting entire sections up until we hit record, and even still we went over time. If you like longer episodes, this one is for you. Deals of the Week: What’s going on with the former Peloton CEO’s new rug startup? And how is Tellus going to offer much better consumer savings rates? And, finally, how wrong can Alex get the Harmonic business model until he figures it out live on the show? Mega-layoffs: From there, we had to sit down and discuss the massive Meta layoffs. Our read is that the company is doing right by the folks it is cutting, which is not as much as we can say about some other companies in the world also undergoing massive staffing cuts. Naturally, this brought up Twitter to a degree, the smaller social network being the Main Character in tech news up until, well: WTF FTX? Ah, FTX. Last week it was worth $32 billion and its founder was arguably the face of crypto around the world. And now Sequoia has pulled its on-site hagiography, SBF is a pariah, and FTX may be going to zero. There’s going to be a mini-series about this, isn’t there? We are back Monday! Have a lovely weekend! Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday and Wednesday, and at 6 a.m. PT on Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. ZebethMedia also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together, and more!

Binance signs letter of intent to acquire FTX • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 8, 2022Posted in Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Crypto, FTX, Sam Bankman-FriedNo Comments

Binance has signed a non-binding, letter of intent to acquire FTX, the two firms said, delivering a surprising twist amid the public feud between the world’s two largest crypto exchanges that contributed to several tokens taking a tumble Tuesday. The firms didn’t disclose the value of the deal, which is pending the due diligence process. In a series of tweets, Binance founder and chief executive Changpeng Zhao said Binance made the decision after FTX reached out to the firm for help. “To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire FTX and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days,” he said. Binance, the world’s largest exchange, is the first investor that backed FTX, but as the younger firm grew in popularity, the relationship between the two firms started to wither. The two executives have hurled criticism at each other for several months, but the relationship between the two hit an all-time low earlier this week after Zhao revealed that Binance was selling its holding of FTT, the native token of FTX exchange that it had received as part of an exit from the firm last year. In a tweet, Sam Bankman-Fried (pictured above) said: “A *huge* thank you to CZ, Binance, and all of our supporters. This is a user-centric development that benefits the entire industry. CZ has done, and will continue to do, an incredible job of building out the global crypto ecosystem, and creating a freer economic world.” Several cryptocurrencies jumped on the news. Affected by the news of Binance’s acquisition of FTX, BNB rose to $370, an increase of 12% in one hour; FTT rose to a maximum of $22, an increase of 37% in one hour. BTC bounces back to $20,143 and ETH to $1,535. — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 8, 2022 (More to follow)