Bankruptcy filings: FTX CEO John J. Ray III, who oversaw Enron, condemns SBF's “unprecedented” management, describing a “complete failure of corporate controls”

The former FTX CEO's unconventional style is under the spotlight as bankruptcy professionals pore over the exchange's collapse.

CoinDesk 2022-11-17 Jack Schickler

Context & Ripple Effects

Ray’s filing followed FTX’s move to install new directors and engage with dozens of regulators while estimating more than a million creditors in the bankruptcy. The control failures described here give operational context to that unusually broad recovery effort.

Later congressional testimony characterized the case as a “paperless” bankruptcy and said FTX and Alameda were not distinct, extending the filing’s governance critique from poor oversight to missing records and blurred company boundaries.

First-order effects

John J. Ray III and the new FTX leadership must reconstruct records and control over the estate rather than rely on ordinary corporate reporting, complicating their work for creditors and regulators.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s management becomes a central issue in the bankruptcy record, while FTX’s former operating structure is subjected to formal scrutiny.

Second-order effects

The reported lack of documentation raises the workload for bankruptcy professionals and regulators already engaged with FTX, because asset tracing and creditor claims cannot be readily reconciled from conventional records.
Evidence that FTX and Alameda lacked separation, later detailed in Ray’s House testimony on commingled customer assets, broadens the inquiry from exchange management to the handling of customer funds across affiliated entities.

Third-order effects

If a major exchange can enter bankruptcy without reliable records or independent controls, creditor recovery increasingly depends on forensic reconstruction rather than routine insolvency administration.
The case points toward stronger expectations that crypto platforms document asset custody and maintain meaningful separation between affiliated businesses, especially where customer assets are involved.

The trend: FTX is becoming a test case for whether crypto platforms can be held to bankruptcy-ready standards of records, governance, and customer-asset separation.

Discussion

@kadhim @kadhim on x
Sam Bankman-Fried's hedge fund lent billions to... Sam Bankman-Fried (Paper Bird is his entity), so that's at least part of the answer of where the money went https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
THE FTX FIRST DAY DECLARATION New CEO John Ray is scathing about Sam Bankman-Fried's management. “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information.” https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.c…
@dogetoshi Steven on x
Am I reading this correctly? FTX's coded it's auto liquidation protocol to exempt Alameda from being liquidated? https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
FTX says the “fair value” of all the crypto that FTX international holds is a mere $659! Remember that SBF has been marking it at $5.5bn: https://www.ft.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@wassielawyer @wassielawyer on x
Alameda was secretly exempted from FTX's auto-liquidation protocols. LITERALLY GOD MODE. https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
Umm, yeah this is pretty bad https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
SBF to be investigated in the course of the bankruptcy https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@suzhupercycle Su Zhupercycle on x
Just when I think it can't get more absurd, they can't even come up with a list of employees. Maybe they only had 5 engineers because they kept hiring them and losing them in the ether. https://twitter.com/...
@deitaone @deitaone on x
FTX TRADING'S NEW CEO JOHN RAY SAYS ‘NEVER IN MY CAREER HAVE I SEEN SUCH A COMPLETE FAILURE OF CORPORATE CONTROLS AND SUCH A COMPLETE ABSENCE OF TRUSTWORTHY FINANCIAL INFORMATION AS OCCURRED HERE’ — COURT FILING
@fbajak Frank Bajak on x
“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.” https://twitter.com/...
@spencerjakab Spencer Jakab on x
Wow. I think I've found my first opportunity to use the word “omnishambles,” which I just learned from @jonsindreu & @RToplensky last month. #FTX https://twitter.com/...
@mayazi @mayazi on x
The entire crypto market was SBF's backstop https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
“At this time, the Debtors have been unable to prepare a complete list of who worked for the FTX Group as of the Petition Date, or the terms of their employment.”
@kadhim @kadhim on x
This sums it all up: FTX, FTX US and Alameda “do not have an accounting department”. FTX raised $1.8bn (actual, real dollars) from Sequoia, SoftBank, Temasek, Tiger Global, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, etc etc https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/…
@tina_davis Tina Davis on x
My favorite: “Employees submitted payment requests through an online ‘chat’ platform where a disparate group of supervisors approved disbursements by responding with personalized emojis” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@dylanleclair_ @dylanleclair_ on x
The $100b question, Who leaked the Alameda balance sheet to CoinDesk?
@0xngmi @0xngmi on x
llamao sbf lent himself 1billion from alameda https://twitter.com/...
@coloradotravis @coloradotravis on x
Wow this is another stellar one. Not so much “employees” but more like an ensemble cast of embezzlers who would wander through the shared space, to re-up on drugs and snag a few hundred milly. https://twitter.com/...
@z0r0zzz @z0r0zzz on x
Paper Bird Inc. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@coloradotravis @coloradotravis on x
This is all so much worse than it looked at first. Which is saying something. https://twitter.com/...
@coloradotravis @coloradotravis on x
It's difficult for me to imagine how completely brain dead you have to be to believe you're gonna get away with the things described in this thread. This man just said he's gonna go raise $8b and continue operations. Holy shit.
@newmoneyreview Paul Amery on x
Bankruptcy humour “The audit firm for the [FTX Group] was Prager Metis, a firm with which I am not familiar and whose website indicates that they are the ‘first-ever CPA firm to officially open its Metaverse headquarters in the metaverse platform Decentraland’.” https://twitter.c…
@ncweaver Nicholas Weaver on x
It seems @SBF_FTX is so gloriously fucked. Basically the Financial Crimes A-Team has taken over FTX. In SBF's case it isn't the dildo of consequence that is arriving unlubed, but the unlubed and unsedated financial colonoscopy. Expect indictment in <90 days. https://twitter.com/.…
@hsakatrades @hsakatrades on x
Co-mingling user deposits between FTX & Alameda wasn't enough. They embezzled billions for themselves. SBF: $1b Nishad Singh: $540m Ryan Salame: $55m (People keep forgetting he was one of the largest donors to the republicans) When clawback from politicians? https://twitter.com/.…
@tracyalloway Tracy Alloway on x
Here are the wildest parts from the FTX first day motion bankruptcy filing, featuring: - Scathing comments on SBF's tweeting - $5.5 billion of tokens now valued at $659k - A backdoor between FTX and Alameda - Personalized emojis https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
Why did BlockFi borrow $250mn worth of FTX's native token FTT? https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
There are so many bits of horror in this filing. Island Bay Ventures is the entity that holds FTX's stake in Scaramucci's SkyBridge, according to other records we've seen. Ray can't find the financials for the entity https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.…
@jyarow Jay Yarow on x
This is going to make it harder for SBF to raise the $8 billion he's looking for to make customers whole. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@smtuffy Sean Tuffy on x
I'm beginning to think this was more that the whoopsie-daisy that SBF says it was https://twitter.com/...
@dingalingts @dingalingts on x
“It can't get any worse right??” - me everyday for the entire last week jfc https://twitter.com/...
@txmctrades @txmctrades on x
This must have been what Caroline meant when she said they don't believe in stop losses. https://twitter.com/...
@twobitidiot @twobitidiot on x
The only company in crypto that rivals FTX in terms of damage to the industry's market structure is Grayscale. And this SEC Chair has stood back and allowed this toxicity to proliferate and impair billions of dollars of investor capital. Totally asleep at the wheel.
@apolynya @apolynya on x
Quite incredible work by John Ray III and team in such a short time This case will go down in history alongside Enron, Worldcom and the like as the one of the greatest corporate scandals of the 21st century Can't wait to see regulators' & courts' response to this bizarre tale
@flglmn @flglmn on x
lol if john ray says you are the biggest collapse of corporate controls he has ever seen in his career https://twitter.com/...
@robinsreport Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein on x
Makes more sense now that Sam Bankman-Fried didn't want to declare bankruptcy simply because he didn't want to publicly expose how fucked his operation was. https://twitter.com/...
@gaborgurbacs Gabor Gurbacs on x
Reading through the new FTX bankruptcy filing. As of September 30, 2022, FTXDotCom apparently had $659,000 of crypto assets held at fair value. Company valued at $32 Billion. They just gambled it, didn't they. Wow. 🤯 Source: https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https:/…
@rnr_0 Romano on x
Lmfao they're throwing Sam under the bus https://twitter.com/...
@shaneferro Shane on x
100% my fave part of this filing https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@noteezzy @noteezzy on x
FTX had some code that exempted Alameda from being Liquidated on the exchange Alameda could not be liquidated on FTX yet somehow they still lost 10b in user funds HOWWWW??!?!!!?? https://twitter.com/...
@cryptoub @cryptoub on x
It's not difficult to see why people have fallen into different theories as to why SBF hasn't been arrested and why the media is treating him so well. The media has done a terrible job reporting on what has happened with FTX and how much it has truly impacted people.
@ichimikichiki @ichimikichiki on x
So you excluded Alameda from the liq engine? We can now sue @rsalame7926 and @sbf_ftx in their personal capacities to recover funds from their personal assets, as the conduct was criminal. https://twitter.com/...
@dogetoshi Steven on x
So basically: 1. Alameda took a giga large leveraged position on FTX 2. The position went negative 3. FTX should have liquidated them but didn't 4. Negative PnL grew even bigger as market collapsed 5. FTX left with huge bad debt 6. Bank run revealed that debt hole
@ceterispar1bus @ceterispar1bus on x
enron walked so ftx could fly https://twitter.com/...
@thetranscript_ @thetranscript_ on x
The #FTX international balance sheet shows that crypto assets held at fair value was ONLY $659. https://twitter.com/...
@loopifyyy @loopifyyy on x
Wow. Look what he had to say about FTX: https://twitter.com/...
@turnernovak Turner Novak on x
“The fair value of FTXs crypto assets is $659,000” https://twitter.com/...
@chris_stewart_5 Chris Stewart on x
Sounds like they haven't reached out to the Kraken team yet on who hacked them last Friday https://twitter.com/...
@tree_of_alpha @tree_of_alpha on x
The fact there isn't a single mention of the name “Trabucco” in the 30 pages of the initial bankruptcy filings makes me think he might just get away with it. Outstanding work @AlamedaTrabucco.
@hsakatrades @hsakatrades on x
The goblin loved to brag about the lean time size. He just wanted fewer pairs of eyes and ears, in case somebody stumbled upon the fraud and talked. https://twitter.com/...
@chris_stewart_5 Chris Stewart on x
Yikes, all digital assets on FTX were controlled by SBF and Wang. The exchange had a bus factor of 2. https://twitter.com/...
@lizrhoffman Liz Hoffman on x
A document shopped to potential investors last week detailed the assets of Alameda, the SBF-controlled trading firm, and included stakes in StockTwits, mobile-banking app Dave, and a mysterious firm identified only as a Wall Street quant shop https://www.semafor.com/...
@mayazi @mayazi on x
This is probably one of the most damning things I could ever imagine. All the theories how Almadea had an advantage on FTX didn't do justice to the real mechanism design https://twitter.com/...
@simondixontwitt Simon Dixon on x
These are the assets that #FTX creditors will need to sort through to determine recovery potential in Chapter 11. https://twitter.com/...
@simondixontwitt Simon Dixon on x
The #FTX Organisational Chart https://twitter.com/...
@acityinohio @acityinohio on x
John Ray after taking one look at FTX's finances and corporate controls: “1) What”
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
Damn... This guy handled the Enron liquidation and still thinks this is worse... https://twitter.com/...
@lawmaster @lawmaster on x
@Dogetoshi Jesus christ wtf
@dylanleclair_ Dylan LeClair on x
Burn. It. Down. https://twitter.com/...
@gazthejourno Gareth Corfield on x
Collapsed crypto exchange FTX was worse than Enron, says Enron's former liquidator. This is one of the greatest court documents I've ever read., especially if you share John Ray's bone-dry sense of humour. https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@matthew_pines Matthew Pines on x
“potentially compromised individuals” Very interesting choice of words... https://twitter.com/...
@bennetttomlin @bennetttomlin on x
Yeah this part also reveals that Caroline did not reveal all the people who should have had knowledge in her central four https://twitter.com/...
@jamesrbuk James Ball on x
The “compare and contrast” between this thread and SBF's tweets is extraordinary. Absolutely galaxies apart. https://twitter.com/...
@thetranscript_ @thetranscript_ on x
#FTX new CEO John Ray:: “Never in my career have i seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here...” https://twitter.com/...
@bigsteve207 Steve Robinson on x
The FTX Ch. 11 filings are great so far... https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@ledgerstatus @ledgerstatus on x
$3.3b of personal “loans” to self... funded by deposits. The hole is becoming clearer. https://twitter.com/...
@rleshner @rleshner on x
The FTX “first day” pleadings (a summary of the situation, as told by the new CEO) is a must-read. Zero facade or whitewashing, countless facts. https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ...
@hedgedhog7 @hedgedhog7 on x
tweet some more you fucking fraud https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@sindap Sujeet Indap on x
“In the Bahamas, I understand that corporate funds of the FTX Group were used to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors.” https://twitter.com/...
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
FTX situation is worse than Enron, according to the guy who was in charge of the Enron resolution and has now been installed at FTX. https://twitter.com/...
@stackersatoshi Satoshi Stacker on x
BREAKING: Recent bankruptcy documents reveals that SBF used FTX customer funds to buy property for himself.
@aaberwick Angus Berwick on x
FTX's new CEO John Ray in a declaration to the bankruptcy court filed today: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here”
@dogetoshi Steven on x
Wait did FTX try to “bailout” BlockFi using $250M worth of marked to market FTT? https://twitter.com/...
@robaeprice Rob Price on x
FTX bankruptcy filing: - It didn't properly track its cash / accounts - Unclear who actually works there - Many entities never had board meetings - Disbursement was approved via emojis - Security failures - Few records, SBF's messages auto-deleted https://pacer-documents.s3.amazo…
@literaryeric Eric Nelson on x
The guy who ran Enron as it was failing is taking over FTX and says it's much worse. https://twitter.com/...
@danbarker Dan Barker on x
Odd proof that it is possible to make (and lose) billions and join the highest of society, without much of a clue what you're doing. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@beijingpalmer James Palmer on x
This man dealt with *enron* https://twitter.com/...
@bondhack Robert Smith on x
this is a quote from the guy who oversaw the Enron bankruptcy it's like a Vietnam war vet saying that the bar fight he saw last night is the worst violence he's ever witnessed https://twitter.com/...
@firstadopter Tae Kim on x
New FTX CEO who oversaw Enron bankruptcy says FTX is the worst failure of corporate controls, compliance and financial oversight he has ever seen cc: @sequoia https://twitter.com/...
@kaileyleinz Kailey Leinz on x
*FTX BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS ACCUSE BANKMAN-FRIED OF UNDERMINING CASE *FTX LAWYERS CITE SBF'S ‘INCESSANT AND DISRUPTIVE TWEETING’ *FTX BANKRUPTCY DOCUMENTS CITE TWEETS FROM VOX ARTICLE *FTX LAWYERS CITE ‘ALMOST COMPLETE LACK’ OF DEPENDABLE RECORDS
@4xinsight @4xinsight on x
RAY SAYS FTX HAS LOCATED AND SECURED ONLY A ‘FRACTION’ OF DIGITAL ASSETS IT HOPES TO RECOVER IN BANKRUPTCY CASE
@darkcryptolord @darkcryptolord on x
“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here,” Ray said in a filing. LMAO https://twitter.com/...
@anthony Anthony DeRosa on x
In a filing to federal bankruptcy court, John J. Ray, who has helped oversee some of the biggest bankruptcies ever, including Enron's, said despite his 40 years in the business of restructuring companies, he's never seen anything as bad as FTX https://www.wsj.com/...
@dogetoshi Steven on x
This seems wrong. The White Hat Hacker's wallet alone holds at least high 8 figs in decently liquid altcoins. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
This is mad stuff “I do not believe it appropriate for stakeholders or the Court to rely on the audited financial statements as a reliable indication” “The Debtors have been unable to prepare a complete list of who worked for the FTX Group as of the Petition Date”
@coloradotravis @coloradotravis on x
This thread... yikes. It appears Sam did simply take ('borrow') a billion dollars. https://twitter.com/...
@dogetoshi Steven on x
Ok it was the classic use user funds as your piggy bank move https://twitter.com/...
@davidsacks David Sacks on x
The biggest con man since Madoff just admitted that woke is a virtue-signaling game “where we say all the right shibboleths and so everyone likes us.” How stupid does the NYT feel now? https://twitter.com/...
@sbf_ftx @sbf_ftx on x
25) Last night I talked to a friend of mine. They published my messages. Those were not intended to be public, but I guess they are now. https://twitter.com/...
@ftx_official @ftx_official on x
(3/3) Mr. Bankman-Fried has no ongoing role at @FTX_Official, FTX US, or Alameda Research Ltd. and does not speak on their behalf.
@kelseytuoc Kelsey Piper on x
Hey guys, last night in Twitter DMs I asked Sam Bankman-Fried when Alameda first borrowed FTX customer funds, what he really thinks of the SEC, and a lot more. https://t.co/Yq8InqNPS4
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Coverage of FTX meltdown is incomparably faster *and* better quality on Twitter than old-school media
@ftx_official @ftx_official on x
(1/3) Statement from John Ray, Chief Restructuring Officer and CEO of @FTX_Official, regarding Mr. Bankman-Fried's recent public statements:
@sbf_ftx @sbf_ftx on x
31) And in the future, I'm going to care less about the dumb, contentless, “good actor” framework. What matters is what you do—is *actually* doing good or bad, not just *talking* about doing good or *using ESG language*.
@sbf_ftx @sbf_ftx on x
28) Even so, there are regulators who have deeply impressed me with their knowledge and thoughtfulness. The CFTC has; the SCB, and VARA, too. And others, scattered. But most are overwhelmed.
@parismartineau Paris Martineau on x
fwiw, the author of this story appears to have been friends with Alameda Research CEO @carolinecapital at some point, according to Tumblr posts from an account allegedly belonging to Caroline around the time of these posts, Piper founded Stanford's Effective Altruism student org …
@sbf_ftx @sbf_ftx on x
27) A few thoughts: a) It's *really* hard to be a regulator. They have an impossible job: to regulate entire industries that grow faster than their mandate allows them to. And so often they end up mostly unable to police as well as they ideally would.
@krugermacro Alex Krüger on x
These insane SBF chatlogs can be condensed into: a) his public persona was an act b) the mean justifies the end => best to be dishonest but win c) doing “sketchy” things is OK d) he had been using customer funds for a long time e) “it wasn't quite lending them out” https://twitte…
@autismcapital @autismcapital on x
“If I hadn't done that (Chapter 11) withdrawals would be opening up in a month with customers fully whole. But instead I filed and the people in charge of it are trying to burn it all to the ground out of shame. I might still get there.” jfc. https://twitter.com/...
@sama Sam Altman on x
i've been stopping myself from sending my EA tweetstorm for a week but idk how much more self-restraint i have https://twitter.com/...
@unusual_whales @unusual_whales on x
Woah. These are real DMs from SBF of FTX and Vox Media, where Vox asks Sam if all the ethical discussion at FTX was a “a game of winner and losers.” Sam answers: “ya hehe” https://twitter.com/...
@vivekgramaswamy Vivek Ramaswamy on x
Key difference between SBF and the other kings of the ESG-industrial complex: at least he's willing to say the quiet part out loud. Better late than never. https://twitter.com/...
@s_r_constantin Sarah Constantin on x
so let me get this straight $8B of FTX depositors' money was being kept in an Alameda account, initially as a corner-cutting convenience ...and they just kind of forgot that's where it came from? And Alameda traded with it and lost it? https://www.vox.com/...
@zackbeauchamp Zack Beauchamp on x
This @KelseyTuoc interview with SBF is astonishing. He admits to basically lying about all of his ethical commitments https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@hsakatrades @hsakatrades on x
“hehe” What a psychopath. >refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing >tried to pin the blame on anyone else, CZ, Alameda, FTX employees DM interview from @voxdotcom , a media outlet Sam “donated” (customer funds) heavily to. https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@nickatfp Nick on x
I was ok with the drugs, the rug pulling, the ponzi, the leverage, the weird sex ring thing, but once I heard he was an EFFECTIVE ALTRUIST, straight to gitmo https://twitter.com/...
@autismcapital @autismcapital on x
1/3 The author of the Vox article leaking Sam's texts is Kelsey Piper. Kelsey Piper is an Effective Altruist (like Sam) who runs “Future Perfect”, an offshoot of Vox. Sam is a Future Perfect donor. It's interesting Kelsey would leak Sam's texts and that Sam would say what he did.…
@iansherr @iansherr on x
Puts that Vox interview in a fuller light. https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@sbf_ftx @sbf_ftx on x
26) Well, that gives some color, I guess. It sucks. I'm really sorry that things ended up as they did. And as I said—I'm going to do everything I can to make it more right.
@albrgr Alexander Berger on x
just, wow https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@quantian1 @quantian1 on x
Shorter SBF Vox interview: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
FTX SLAMS @SBF_FTX “In terms of the celebrity of [SBF], his unconventional leadership style, his incessant and disruptive tweeting since the Petition Date, and the almost complete lack of dependable corporate records, these ... Cases are unprecedented” https://pacer-documents.s3.…
@ftx_official @ftx_official on x
(2/3) As previously announced, Mr. Bankman-Fried resigned on November 11 from @FTX_Official, FTX US, Alameda Research Ltd. and their directly and indirectly owned subsidiaries.
@zeeshanaleem Zeeshan Aleem on x
Holy shit, in which Sam Bankman-Fried admits that his effective altruism bit was “mostly a front” https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
Oh, he also literally — LITERALLY — says “fuck regulators”. This guy has regulators coming down the chimney and he's says “fuck regulators, they make everything worse”. How could things be worse! https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@dylanleclair_ @dylanleclair_ on x
Same people that thought Sam would become emperor of the world also believe Vitalik is the second coming of Einstein himself. You're placing a venture bet on someone who's literally making it up on the fly, riddled with execution and political risks.
@unusual_whales @unusual_whales on x
Truly incredible. Vox Media asks SBF of FTX if the crypto regulations Sam was advocating for were “just PR.” Sam answers: “yeah just PR. fuck regulators. they make everything worse. they don't protect customers.” $2 billion of customer funds are reportedly missing on FTX. https:/…
@trungtphan Trung Phan on x
SBF spoke to Vox via Twitter DMs and blames “messy accounting” for Alameda ending up with FTX customer deposits https://twitter.com/...
@kimdotcom Kim Dotcom on x
Ever since I started talking about the role of @cz_binance in the collapse of FTX I received messages from insiders who work(ed) closely with CZ and Binance. One of them revealed to me: “It was either FTX or Binance going down.” A story about power, hubris, greed and survival.
@biancoresearch @biancoresearch on x
1/5 Here is @SBF_FTX @voxdotcom interview today. In it, he said something that everyone in trouble says and is never true ... if I held on long enough, the markets would recover and make me whole. 🧵 https://www.vox.com/...
@obsoletedogma Matt O'Brien on x
It turns out that the guy who cynically admitted he was in the business of selling Ponzi schemes is now cynically admitting that his entire altruistic persona was a fraud https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@vusithembekwayo @vusithembekwayo on x
Interview: Fallen crypto CEO Sam Bankman-Fried opens up about FTX, Alameda Research, and his regrets - Vox This is egregious. Somebody confiscate this boys phone. https://www.vox.com/...
@mattzeitlin Matthew Zeitlin on x
lol at people trying to three dimensional chess the SBF Vox interview, a journalist got in touch with a major figure in the news, talked to them, and reported what they said. This is literally the core function of journalism.
@mdudas Mike Dudas on x
so, it turns out that while @sbf_ftx would only talk about how well he was sleeping to the @nytimes, he was willing to spill his entire dark heart and cynical soul to @voxdotcom https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@mayazi @mayazi on x
“This dumb game we woke westerners play where we say all the right shibboleths & so everyone likes us ” https://twitter.com/...
@cryptokaleo @cryptokaleo on x
This Vox article is insane. If you haven't had the opportunity to give it a read yet, make sure you do. https://www.vox.com/...
@zeeshanaleem Zeeshan Aleem on x
Anyway, I'm not sure what compelled him to say all this to a journalist. Maybe because @KelseyTuoc skillfully made him feel at ease? But this is presumably going to make future legal proceedings a lot more difficult for him...
@allnick @allnick on x
I feel like SBF may not actually have great lawyers at this point given the messages he's sending to journalists... https://twitter.com/...
@stoolpresidente Dave Portnoy on x
He's right about that last line at least https://twitter.com/...
@simondixontwitt Simon Dixon on x
“Fuck Regulators. They Make Everything Worse” @SBF_FTX - They Do Make You Leave Client Money Alone Sam. That would have prevented FTX being taken down by your hedge funds lavish spending & gambling right? https://twitter.com/...
@mrjasonchoi Jason Choi on x
SBF in @voxdotcom interview: Ethics is mostly a front and lobbying for regulations was “just PR” https://twitter.com/...
@jonathanvswan Jonathan Swan on x
Eyes widened more each paragraph... https://www.vox.com/... via @voxdotcom
@mhonkasalo @mhonkasalo on x
This might be the 1st bit of honesty we've seen by SBF. All the ethics & altruism talk was bullshit. It was brand-building for the mainstream media to swallow. A dumb game for woke westerners. https://twitter.com/...
@dangillmor Dan Gillmor on x
The bigger the crimes, the less likely the punishment. Trump has been the poster child for this, but Sam Bankman-Fried is right up there. https://www.vox.com/...
@hsakatrades @hsakatrades on x
@voxdotcom It's literally just a game to him. This interview is surreal. He's confidently providing all the ammunition required for any competent prosecutor to put him away forever. He thinks he's going to walk, and he probably will. What the actual fuck. https://twitter.com/...
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
71/82 Sam continues to think that he will raise $8B to restore user deposits, and says that its the fault of the other founders being “ashamed” and “scared” that they've sided with the bankruptcy process. https://twitter.com/...
@chainlinkgod @chainlinkgod on x
Why is SBF more comfortable being open with a reporter in the DMs than he is on his own public twitter? He must have known that all of these messages would become public.. right? Bizarre https://twitter.com/...
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
70/82 In his view, even though it was theft, and a violation of their own terms of service it was fine because “others do it” and he continues to claim that it was just “messy accounting” despite colleagues confirming he expressly programmed a backdoor. https://twitter.com/...
@lemieuxlgm Scott Lemieux on x
I'm reminded that one of the (many) things @EmilyMandel's fictionalized account of the Madoff scandal conveys beautifully is how crude and unsophisticated it was. You'd think it would have been an incredibly complex scheme to fool regulators and knowledgable investors but nope ht…
@wholemarsblog @wholemarsblog on x
Then what's he trying to raise money for? https://twitter.com/...
@jason_howerton Jason Howerton on x
SBF literally admitted he just said the things woke elites wanted to hear and the media still out here writing puff pieces about the dude's “altruism” https://twitter.com/...
@lilmoonlambo @lilmoonlambo on x
nah this SBF cover is crazy 😂 https://twitter.com/...
@avcrypto_ @avcrypto_ on x
just another degen that lost $8b and thinks he can make it all back *supposedly* in 1 week, IF he hadn't filed Chapter 11. People keep forgetting the problem though - how the fuck do you lose $8b as an exchange owner with all the ‘edge’ Alameda has against market participants? ht…
@jespow Jesse Powell on x
Here's what you can do: 1. immediately disclose all of the contagion risk. What other financial services had 7+ figs in your custody? 2. loudly shout to the world, over and over, in every interview, that this had nothing to do with crypto 3. cooperate 100% https://twitter.com/...
@shellenbergermd Michael Shellenberger on x
Vox: “You were really good at talking about ethics for someone who saw it all as a game with winners and losers” SBF: “ya, hehe... I feel bad for those who get fucked by it. By this dumb game we woke westerners play where we say all the right shiboleths so everyone likes us” http…
@simondixontwitt Simon Dixon on x
The mindset of a trader like @SBF_FTX . Traders want one more chip so they can make it all back. Investors slowly stack chips & take slices of them away from traders. Traders overestimate what they can make in one year, but underestimate what investors can make in ten years. http…
@timnitgebru @timnitgebru on x
So another article on effective altruism (EA) by another journalist who is a member of the EA cult. How these news orgs have been promoting the movement & writing articles to make the cult look like an innocent victim even after this debacle should be a story in itself. https://t…
@dylanmatt Dylan Matthews on x
Let this be a lesson about Future Perfect and editorial independence: you can give us a grant and if you're doing crimes, we will post your confession and rationalizations for everyone to see https://twitter.com/...
@mhonkasalo @mhonkasalo on x
1/ Highlights from @KelseyTuoc's illuminating article at Vox with SBF trying to explain himself. https://www.vox.com/...
@pebonilla Peter Bonilla on x
SBF's lawyers are well in the running for the angriest people in the world rn That's if he has them still, because holy f***, if I was one of them and I read this I'd be jumping out the nearest window https://www.vox.com/...
@netcapgirl Sophie on x
psychopathic. https://twitter.com/...
@dylanmatt Dylan Matthews on x
If you're someone who bites the bullet on St. Petersburg paradoxes it turns out you're eager to lose a lot of money on the roulette table! https://twitter.com/...
@matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
This guy. I just don't know what to say. https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@autismcapital @autismcapital on x
Unhinged text messages from SBF shared with a VOX reporter. He is still in denial. His biggest regret is “filing for chapter 11” bankruptcy. i.e. “someone else is in charge of my money and now I can't get new investors and trade my way out of this hole.” https://www.vox.com/...
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
74/82 He doesn't care about users. He flat out said, it isn't so black or white. He doesn't care that he stole funds from people who trusted him. He doesn't even care that he stole.
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Why would he write this down in a conversation with a journalist? Bragging that all of his charitable work was a “woke” grift just makes him a lying and manipulative grifter in addition to already being considered a criminal fraud. It makes no sense. 🤷‍♂️ https://twitter.com/...
@samharrisorg Sam Harris on x
This is terrible. https://www.vox.com/...
@shannonvallor Shannon Vallor on x
You are telling me the EA crypto guy never actually cared about ethics or benefiting humanity, and underneath it all was just some lazy nihilistic bullshit? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@justinwolfers Justin Wolfers on x
“The grief and pain he [Sam Bankman-Fried] has caused is immense, and I came away from our conversation appalled by much of what he said. But if these mistakes haunted him, he largely didn't show it.” https://www.vox.com/...
@balajis Balaji on x
To be clear, we still need forensic accounting — no SBF statement can be taken at face value. But this gives a lead and place to look. With no financial controls on bank accounts handling billions, it looks like de facto theft from customers started much earlier than 2022.
@cwarzel @cwarzel on x
obviously this is wild but also kind of marveling at how it also has just HUGE late night high school AIM energy https://twitter.com/...
@wupton Will Upton on x
Narrator Voice: His parents are both lawyers. https://twitter.com/...
@fordm Matt Ford on x
Has this man ever met a lawyer in his entire life https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@cobie @cobie on x
@SBF_FTX Yo just tell us how you lost 10bn dollars you fuckin cock cheese
@coffeebreak_yt @coffeebreak_yt on x
FTX Founder SBF describes his ethics as mostly a “front”, and a “dumb game we woke westerners play where we say all the right shiboleths and so everyone likes us.” Holy shit. credit to @KelseyTuoc for the massive scoop https://twitter.com/...
@modestproposal1 @modestproposal1 on x
what did i just read https://www.vox.com/...
@sullycnbc Brian Sullivan on x
Didn't see this Vox article until tonight. It's basically a recap of a late night message session between Bankman-Fried (I won't call him ‘SBF’ .. seems glib) and the author (who knows him). It's .. bonkers. If the messages are authentic .. https://www.vox.com/...
@hannahgais Hannah Gais on x
i was going to say sam bankman-fried exemplifies the type of guy in your intro to philosophy class who reads a little john stuart mill once, won't shut up about it for the rest of the semester, and forgets any lessons later on. but he said books are trash. https://www.vox.com/..…
@sbf_ftx @sbf_ftx on x
30) (Some of what I said was thoughtless or overly strong—I was venting and not intending that to be public. I guess at this point what I write leaks anyway.)
@nkulw Noah Kulwin on x
1980s financial fraud: cocaine, strippers, being like Don Johnson in Miami Vice 2020s financial fraud: adderall, polycule, quoting A SOFTER WORLD LMFAO https://twitter.com/...
@davidbelle_ David Belle on x
Guys insane. Why any regulator should need to impress you just goes to show how crazy you truly are. https://twitter.com/...
@jespow Jesse Powell on x
Read: “I thought other exchanges were misappropriating client funds so FTX misappropriated client funds too. It seemed ok because we thought we'd get away with it.” https://twitter.com/...
@nmasc_ Natasha on x
don't get me started about the tendency of powerful people in tech calling [insert media figure here] a “friend” just so they can act surprised when unfavorable details come out icky tactic https://twitter.com/...
@basedkarbon @basedkarbon on x
Sam has liked only one tweet in the past week https://twitter.com/...
@rockshrimp @rockshrimp on x
TL;DR: no the entire financial regulations system was not developed decades ago for no reason whatsoever because the govt hates you. https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim @kadhim on x
FTX says that Bankman-Fried didn't include customer liabilities in FTX's financial statements (!) https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@emilyjnicolle Emily Nicolle on x
this @crypto graphic tho https://twitter.com/...
@doombergt @doombergt on x
What a spectacular and disturbing thread. A must read. https://twitter.com/...
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
39/82 We now know, that at this time, SBF was trying to do an “emergency fundraise” of $6B-$10B with weird frantic terms. The rumors of this raise began to spiral - but no one really believed the price tag. https://twitter.com/...
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
10/82 Over the coming days, Sam was erratic, aggressive and insulting to just about everyone. It's also where he made his now infamous jab at Binance CEO CZ about not traveling to DC. https://twitter.com/...
@benedictspence Benedict Spence on x
Do not be put off by the length of this thread. This isn't a complex, jargon-heavy story about abstract magic internet money. It's about one of the biggest swindles in history, and the guy who, having bought media and political influence, might actually get away with it. https://…
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
2/82 Sept 30th, 2022: On September 30th, I noticed an odd behavior, that while other exchanges were declining in their Ethereum “open interest” (amount of futures contracts bought on leverage) FTX was not. It was at an all time high: https://twitter.com/...
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
35/82 On the night of the 7th, the price of Solana, one of Alameda's other biggest holdings began to drop. Someone was rapidly selling the Solana token in order to prop up the price of FTT at $22. But then all at once, the price fell. https://twitter.com/...
@loopifyyy @loopifyyy on x
1/ FTX went from one of the biggest Crypto companies in the world worth $32B, to bankrupt, all in a week. And, it all started on Twitter. Let's go through each day of this crazy story.
@karen_stenner @karen_stenner on x
Holy hell. The whole SBF story here. What an absolute sociopath. What a disgrace. https://twitter.com/...

Chronicles