FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) reappeared on Substack on Thursday and reiterated that he did not “steal funds” in what appears to be an outline of the legal case. SBF, now unemployed and under house arrest, has taken what seems like the next natural step: he created the Substack newsletter and charges people $80 a year to subscribe.
In the first post of the aptly-called “SBF’s Substack,” the disgraced former CEO of FTX blamed the failure of the cryptocurrency exchange subsidiary Alameda Research on Changpeng Zhao ‘CZ,’ CEO of Binance.
The extreme crash, fast, targeted by the CEO of Binance made Alameda bankrupt, “SBF added that FTX was affected by the Alameda virus. “and other places.
The two chiefs of the crypto industry have openly sparred over the part of CZ on the FTX issue, which at one time involved a rescue proposal that was ultimately scrapped.
According to SBF’s report on Substack, CZ had conducted “a very successful months-long PR campaign against FTX” before the crucial week in November that led to the exchange’s bankruptcy.
“I did not steal funds, and I certainly did not keep billions away,” SBF wrote.
In December, federal authorities arrested SBF, but he was released on $250 million bail. However, he has been detained by his parents at their Palo Alto home in California.
Related reading: Huge Crypto Dump Enters As FTX Plans To Sell Altcoins Worth $4.6B
FTX founders are prohibited by bond from establishing new lines of credit, establishing businesses, or engaging in financial transactions greater than $1,000 without obtaining the necessary government or court approval. Hence, it looks like they won’t be able to monetize Substack anytime soon.
No funds were stolen, SBF told Substack
In the first post, SBF also covered more details about the FTX landing. He claimed no criminality, contrasting the liquidity problems that plagued FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research with last year’s high-profile crypto crash.
“Alameda is losing money because of market crashes that are not adequately protected – like Three Arrows and others this year. And FTX is affected, like Voyager and others before it.
Although SBF stated in the post that it had not been in charge of Alameda for a long time, Caroline Ellison, the company’s former CEO, did not specifically mention it. In an apparent agreement to assist law enforcement in the investigation into FTX—and SBF—Ellison entered a guilty plea to fraud charges in December with FTX co-founder Gary Wang.
Despite the allegations of fraud he is fighting, it looks like SBF plans to keep blogging
I have more to say – why Alameda failed to intervene, what happened to FTX US, what led to the Chapter 11 process, S&C, and more. But at least this is a start.
Amid the ongoing scandal since last month, the FTT token price seems to be faltering. The value of the token has fallen by about 95% since the exchange filed for bankruptcy, from a high of $28 to the current $1.38 at the time of writing, with no chance of a rebound.
Cover image from the New York Post. FTTUSDT chart from Tradingview.