SPECIAL REPORT: FTX's Bankman-Fried begged for a rescue even as he revealed huge holes in firm's books

As customers withdrew billions of dollars from crypto exchange FTX one frantic Sunday this month, founder Sam Bankman-Fried worked the phones in a futile bid to raise $7 billion in emergency funds.

Some details of what happened at FTX have already emerged: Reuters reported Bankman-Fried secretly used $10 billion in customer funds to prop up his trading business, for instance, and that at least $1 billion of those deposits had vanished. – One of Bankman-Fried’s close aides tweaked FTX’s accounting software. This enabled Bankman-Fried to hide the transfer of customer money from FTX to Alameda. A screenshot of FTX’s book-keeping system showed that even after the massive customer withdrawals, some $10 billion in deposits remained, plus a surplus of $1.5 billion. This led employees to believe wrongly that FTX was on a solid financial footing.

Bankman-Fried told Reuters in an email that due to a “confusing internal account,” Alameda’s leverage was substantially higher than he believed it was. He added that FTX processed roughly $6 billion of client withdrawals. Alameda found early trading success by arbitraging cryptocurrency prices on international markets, with half of profits going to charity, according to the same profile. By 2019, the company handled $55 million for clients, an Alameda company booklet said. Reuters could not independently confirm these details.

In October 2021, Bankman-Fried, then 29 years old, landed on the cover of Forbes, which pegged his net worth at $26.5 billion – the 25th richest person in America. FTX said on its website that “FTX, its affiliates, and its employees have donated over $10m to help save lives, prevent suffering, and ensure a brighter future.”

FTX was also planning partnerships with some of the world’s largest companies. An FTX document from June 2022, which has not been previously reported, shows a list of FTX’s “select partners” for business-to-business services. Prospective partners included retail giant Walmart Inc., social media titan Meta Platforms Inc., payment-system provider Stripe, and financial website Yahoo! Finance, according to the document.

FTX expected to take its international and US businesses public, an investor due-diligence document from this June said. The document is reported here for the first time.

Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

FTX founder Bankman-Fried says he failed to see warning signs – NYTFTX founder and former Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried said he expanded his business too fast and failed to notice signs of trouble at the exchange, whose downfall sent shock waves through the crypto industry, the New York Times. | Reuters
Source: inquirerdotnet - 🏆 3. / 86 Read more »

Oscar-winner Paul Haggis must pay total of $10 million in civil rape caseTrigger warning: rape 'I will die clearing my name,' Haggis says.
Source: rapplerdotcom - 🏆 4. / 86 Read more »

The FTX failure - BusinessMirrorIT started with Mt. Gox in 2010 when Bitcoin was trading at $0.09. By late 2013 MtG was handling over 70 percent of all BTC transactions worldwide and the price was $1,000. On February 24, 2014, Mt. Gox suspended all trading, closed its website, and its exchange service, with its website returning a blank page.
Source: BusinessMirror - 🏆 19. / 59 Read more »

EXPLAINER: What’s happening at bankrupt crypto exchange FTX? - BusinessMirrorFTX, formerly one of the world's largest, sought bankruptcy protection last week, and its CEO and founder resigned. Hours later, the trading firm said there had been “unauthorized access” and that funds had disappeared. Analysts say hundreds of millions of dollars may have vanished.
Source: BusinessMirror - 🏆 19. / 59 Read more »

PUBLIC SERVICE: Moy-moy Royo found in ValenzuelaTinatawagan ng pansin ang mga magulang, kamag-anak ng batang si a.k.a. Moy-moy Royo, na tinatayang nasa 7-9 taon gulang. Siya ay natagpuan sa Valenzuela People&39;s Park, MacArthur Highway, Valenzuela City noong October 23, 2018.
Source: gmanews - 🏆 11. / 68 Read more »

Can Komodo dragons be found in the Philippines?As seen on Kuya Kim’s “24 Oras” report Tuesday, residents of Tamparan, Lanao del Sur caught a lizard, which they thought was a Komodo dragon. They said it killed their chickens. However, wildlife educator and conservationist Jazz Ong said this is impossible as Komodo dragons can only be found in Indonesia. What residents caught was a yellow-headed water monitor instead.
Source: gmanews - 🏆 11. / 68 Read more »