Sam Bankman-Fried's Fraud Trial Takes a Dramatic Turn with Evidence of Vulgar Messages to Journalists about Regulators
During the fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, prosecutors presented evidence of his vulgar messages to journalists about regulators. The messages included his belief that regulators "make everything worse" and his prior support for cryptocurrency regulation being mere public relations.
Alameda owes FTX customers $11.3 billion in June 2022
Peter Easton, an accounting professor at Notre Dame University, appeared in court to explain the severity of Alameda Research's alleged misuse of FTX client and investor funds. Based on Easton's testimony and a large number of process diagrams, between January 4, 2022 and February 11, 2022, $1.1 billion of FTX client deposits flowed to Alameda Research, with most of it being used for political donations, real estate investments, venture capital, and charitable donations.
In June 2022, Alameda's debt to FTX clients reached $11.3 billion, while Alameda and FTX's bank accounts had about $2.3 billion. This means that if every client chooses to withdraw their funds, the shortfall that Alameda and FTX cannot make up will reach $9 billion.
FTX Has Paid Nearly $100 Million in Sponsorship Fees to Riot Games and $67 Million to Two Music Festivals
According to The Block, court documents show that FTX had agreed to pay nearly $100 million in sponsorship fees to Riot Games, the developer of "League of Legends," within seven years. After FTX announced bankruptcy, Riot Games began trying to withdraw from the deal at the end of last year.
FTX has signed a sponsorship agreement of nearly US$100 million with Riot Games and sponsored nearly US$67 million in music festivals.
According to court documents presented as evidence in Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial, FTX agreed to pay nearly $100 million in sponsorship fees to the development team of the game League of Legends, Riot Games, who agreed to receive nearly $100 million over seven years. After FTX declared bankruptcy due to customer losses, Riot Games began trying to withdraw from the deal at the end of last year.
The documents also show that FTX agreed to provide approximately $42 million to the Tomorrowland music festival before 2026, an event frequently attended by top DJs such as Solomun. The Coachella music festival, held annually in Southern California, also signed a $25 million agreement with FTX.
This spreadsheet details dozens of sponsorship agreements signed by FTX during the crypto bull market, which prosecutors included as evidence on Monday and released in full today.
$9.2B Settlement for FTX Creditors Reached in Bankruptcy Proceedings
FTX exchange clients could receive a payout of $9.2 billion by mid-2024 as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. The agreement between creditors and the new management of the platform marks a significant milestone in resolving clients' property disputes. The proposed plan involves segregating FTX assets into three categories, with platform users receiving approximately $8.9 billion and the American division receiving $166 million. The settlement is subject to court approval, with an application deadline of December 16, 2023.
Proposed Settlement Could Return Over 90% of Assets to Customers of Bankrupt Crypto Exchange FTX by Q2 2024
FTX and FTX US customers may receive over 90% of their assets back by Q2 2024, according to a proposed settlement reached between FTX debtors and creditors. The settlement includes a "Shortfall Claim" in which FTX estimates that customers of FTX.com and FTX US would collectively receive 90% of assets available for distribution. FTX expects these funds to be disbursed by the end of Q2 2024 if approved by the Bankruptcy Court.
FTX Debtors Settle Customer Property Disputes in Chapter 11 Cases
FTX Debtors have settled customer property disputes as part of their pending Chapter 11 cases, with the customer shortfall settlement forming part of the Amended Plan of Reorganization, which FTX plans to file by December 2023. Subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court, the proposed amended plan anticipates customers globally receiving over 90% of the distributable value.
The FTX Bankruptcy Address Has Pledged a Total of 16.7 Million MATIC to Polygon’s PoS Staking Contract
PeckShield has monitored that the FTX bankruptcy address has pledged a total of 16.7 million MATIC (valued at approximately $9.6 million) to Polygon's PoS staking contract.
Former FTX Engineering Director: FTX Once Paid Celebrities $1.3 Billion in Promotion Fees
In the SBF criminal trial, Nishad Singh, former engineering director of FTX, read out a list of transactions from an electronic spreadsheet in court, which showed that FTX provided promotion funds to celebrities and influencers far exceeding $1 billion.
The Address Controlled by FTX Liquidator Pledged 13.05 Million MATIC
According to Scopescan monitoring, FTX's clearing house controlled address pledged 13.05 million MATIC tokens (worth about $6.95 million) 11 hours ago. The expected annual reward is 599,572.3771 MATIC tokens (worth about $320,000).
