Sam Bankman-Fried's controversial Twitter direct messages were examined today in court, with everything from NBA star Shaquille O'Neal to the crypto mogul's apparently lax approach to regulation getting a mention.
"Fuck regulators," one message read out in court said. "They make everything worse."
Another series of Twitter DMs showed the disgraced crypto boss telling a reporter from Vox media outlet that he'd said "dumb shit."
In another thread, Bankman-Fried was quizzed on when he previously said how one shouldn't do "unethical shit" in the crypto business. He replied, "heh," and admitted that it wasn't really what he believed.
The court also heard Bankman-Fried question how ethical Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao—or CZ—really was in the DMs.
"Now he's a hero," Sam Bankman-Fried said via the messages, noting that CZ would previously talk about ethics in the crypto industry. "Is it because he's virtuous or because he had a bigger balance sheet, and so he won."
In less than a week, one of the largest and most trusted crypto exchanges went up in flames, along with its crypto celebrity founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Dan Roberts, Stacy Elliott, and Kate Irwin from the gm podcast walk you through exactly how it happened, what it means for you, their own takes on the most interesting subplots, and what we can learn from it all. Plus: We review some comments SBF and CZ made on this podcast that look remarkable in hindsight. Watch and make sure to subscribe to the gm podcast on Apple or Spotify.
Bankman-Fried is facing seven criminal charges after his behemoth crypto brand FTX last year collapsed.
The ex-CEO and co-founder of the massive FTX brand used to talk about how he was ethical—but messages observed today show he largely dismissed regulators and made things up.
Basketball legend Shaq was also mentioned in the Manhattan courtroom today: FTX paid nearly $750,000 to the former NBA star as part of a marketing deal with the failed crypto firm, according to a lawsuit last month.
Sam Bankman-Fried, who rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful, denies any wrongdoing; prosecutors allege he criminally mismanaged the exchange and comingled funds.
Collapsed crypto exchange FTX tried to recover frozen funds from Alameda Research by using accounts registered to Thai prostitutes, ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison told jurors today.
In her second day of testimony, star witness Ellison took the stand on Wednesday to tell jurors that FTX insiders tapped the sex workers in a bid to try and reclaim $1 billion worth of funds frozen by the Chinese government.
Ellison, who is Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend and admitted fraud related to the col...
Earlier today, financial statement analysis and professor of accounting Peter Easton told the court that back in 2021 during the height of the crypto bull run, FTX customers thought their balances were around $20 billion in digital assets when really they stood at $5 billion.
Bankman-Fried's trial is expected to last another four weeks.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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