Binance, Snapchat and capital among things SBF was ‘freaking out’ about
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was once “freaking out about” getting regulators to crack down on Binance and raising capital from a Saudi crown prince, according to former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison.
Weeks and months before the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was “freaking out” about Alameda, buying shares in Snapchat, raising capital from Saudi royalty and getting regulators to crack down on rival crypto exchange Binance.
So was written in former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s personal notes about
#CRYPTO FTX and Alameda, which prosecutors presented on the second day of her testimony in New York.
During the trial, Ellison told jurors that a crash in the Terra ecosystem in May 2022 was significant enough to get Bankman-Fried to consider shutting down Alameda and seeking to raise $1 billion in capital from the Saudi Prince, known for his investments in blockchain gaming through Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Another priority for Bankman-Fried a year ago was “getting regulators to crack down” on the crypto exchange Binance, a move intended to increase FTX’s market share, according to Ellison. She didn’t provide any details on how Bankman-Fried planned to do it.
Bankman-Fried was also seeking more funds from crypto lender BlockFi, which had already lent Alameda over $660 million, she said. His other top concerns included trading bonds issued by the Japanese government, buying Snap Inc (SNAP) stocks and “Willie being happy.”
While the list doesn’t specify who “Willie” was, the name was possibly a reference to Bankman-Fried’s mentor, William MacAskill.
According to Ellison, Bankman-Fried blamed her for Alameda’s troubles and poor hedging. During the trial, Ellison admitted that a better hedge strategy could have helped Alameda face the crypto winter, but noted that the company also had large open-term loans and had spent billions from its line of credit with FTX.
