Shaq — who starred in an FTX commercial in June — says he 'was just a paid spokesperson' for the exchange and doesn't believe in crypto
Matthew Loh
Thu, December 15, 2022
Shaquille O'Neal gives a speech during an event at Doolittle Complex basketball courts in Las Vegas, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.
O'Neal warmed this year to the idea of endorsing crypto
Before appearing in the FTX commercial in June, O'Neal had publicly expressed skepticism toward cryptocurrencies. He told CNBC in September 2021 that he didn't understand crypto.
"So I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is," he said, per the outlet.
He also told Front Office Sports in June 2021 that he was wary of crypto endorsement offers.
"I always get these companies that say: 'Hey, we'll give you $900,000 in crypto to send out a tweet.' So I have to say: 'OK, if you're going to give me a million dollars worth of crypto, then why do you need me?'" O'Neal told the outlet. "A couple of my friends got caught up in a little scam like that one time."
However, he started teasing the idea of getting involved in crypto-related content in February, musing on Twitter that he could change his handle to SHAQ.SOL — a reference to a cryptocurrency run by blockchain platform Solana.
The NBA hall of fame member did not disclose how much money he received for appearing in the June FTX commercial.
Representatives for O'Neal did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Shaq appears to not know what being a corporate spokesperson means as he distances himself from crypto
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto—Getty Images
Alena Botros
Thu, December 15, 2022
Basketball legend turned businessman Shaquille O’Neal is attempting to distance himself from crypto after being a paid spokesperson for failed exchange FTX and targeted with a lawsuit for it.
“A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial,” O’Neal told CNBC Make it this week.
In that commercial, O’Neal said he partnered with FTX to help make crypto “accessible to everyone.” It was an unexpected alliance considering that a year earlier he told CNBC that he was avoiding the crypto craze.
“I don’t understand it,” O’Neal said at the time. “So I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is.”
His reasoning? He was skeptical of all the stories of people making big money quickly.
“Every time somebody tells me one of those great stories, I like it,” he said. “But from my experience, it is too good to be true.”
Last month, clients of FTX withdrew billions of dollars' worth of holdings after the CEO of rival exchange Binance tweeted that Binance would sell its holding of FTX’s FTT token. Soon after, FTX filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned after news reports that he had allegedly co-mingled funds of FTX clients with another one of his ventures.
This week, Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with several counts of conspiracy and fraud. With its collapse, many FTX users have been unable to withdraw their money from the platform—and it's unclear if they’ll ever get that money back.
In his interview with CNBC this week, O’Neal said his friendship with Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry is why appeared in FTX’s ad. A spokesperson for Curry declined CNBC’s request for comment.
Curry, along with several other celebrities like football star Tom Brady and his soon to be ex-wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, were named in the same lawsuit as O’Neal over FTX.
The lawsuit, filed in Miami by Edwin Garrison last month, seeks class action status on behalf of himself and FTX users against Bankman-Fried and FTX’s celebrity endorsers. The complaint describes FTX as a “Ponzi scheme,” and claims that its celebrity spokespeople had endorsed unregistered securities.
“People know I’m very, very honest,” O’Neal said. “I have nothing to hide. If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront saying, ‘Hey.’ But I was just a paid spokesperson.”
In his FTX commercial, he said he’s just an everyday guy who checks his FTX account—and that he’s “all in.” But when asked this week if he’s bullish on crypto, he just said no.
O’Neal, who is widely known as Shaq, hasn’t shared how much he was paid to be FTX’s spokesperson. But Kevin O’Leary, a regular on ABC’s Shark Tank investor show, who was also among FTX’s celebrity spokespeople, said he was paid around $15 million. O’Leary told CNBC that he put nearly $10 million in crypto, was given $1 million in FTX equity, and $4 million was taken in taxes and other fees— all of it lost when the company collapsed.
Matthew Loh
Thu, December 15, 2022
Shaquille O'Neal gives a speech during an event at Doolittle Complex basketball courts in Las Vegas, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.
Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Getty Images
Shaquille O'Neal said he was paid to appear in an FTX ad and was never involved in the firm.
In the ad, he said he was "making crypto accessible to everyone" and that he was "all in."
O'Neal was recently named in a lawsuit accusing FTX of using celebrities to trick investors.
NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal said he doesn't believe in cryptocurrencies and was merely paid to endorse the now-imploded exchange FTX, per a Thursday report by CNBC's Make It.
"A lot of people think I'm involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial," O'Neal told the outlet.
The former basketball star, who's now an angel investor and businessman, starred in an FTX commercial released on June 2. In the ad, O'Neal said he was excited to partner with the exchange to "make crypto accessible to everyone."
"I'm all in. Are you?" O'Neal says in the ad.
O'Neal told CNBC that his friendship with fellow NBA great Stephen Curry was one of the reasons he agreed to appear in the FTX ad. Representatives for Curry did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
"People know I'm very, very honest. I have nothing to hide," O'Neal said, per CNBC. "If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront, saying, 'Hey.' But I was just a paid spokesperson."
When asked by the outlet if he was bullish on crypto, O'Neal said: "No."
O'Neal is one of several celebrities named in a class-action lawsuit that was filed on November 15 against FTX, its big-name endorsers, and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The complaint, filed by investor Edwin Garrison, alleges that FTX used celebrities such as O'Neal, Curry, and fashion model Gisele Bündchen to attract investors to a Ponzi scheme, per court documents seen by Insider.
The crypto world was shaken when FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, and as its new CEO John Ray reported a litany of gross mismanagement practices at the firm.
The SEC has charged Bankman-Fried with fraud and accused him of funneling billions of dollars of customer funds into his own crypto hedge fund.
Shaquille O'Neal said he was paid to appear in an FTX ad and was never involved in the firm.
In the ad, he said he was "making crypto accessible to everyone" and that he was "all in."
O'Neal was recently named in a lawsuit accusing FTX of using celebrities to trick investors.
NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal said he doesn't believe in cryptocurrencies and was merely paid to endorse the now-imploded exchange FTX, per a Thursday report by CNBC's Make It.
"A lot of people think I'm involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial," O'Neal told the outlet.
The former basketball star, who's now an angel investor and businessman, starred in an FTX commercial released on June 2. In the ad, O'Neal said he was excited to partner with the exchange to "make crypto accessible to everyone."
"I'm all in. Are you?" O'Neal says in the ad.
O'Neal told CNBC that his friendship with fellow NBA great Stephen Curry was one of the reasons he agreed to appear in the FTX ad. Representatives for Curry did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
"People know I'm very, very honest. I have nothing to hide," O'Neal said, per CNBC. "If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront, saying, 'Hey.' But I was just a paid spokesperson."
When asked by the outlet if he was bullish on crypto, O'Neal said: "No."
O'Neal is one of several celebrities named in a class-action lawsuit that was filed on November 15 against FTX, its big-name endorsers, and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The complaint, filed by investor Edwin Garrison, alleges that FTX used celebrities such as O'Neal, Curry, and fashion model Gisele Bündchen to attract investors to a Ponzi scheme, per court documents seen by Insider.
The crypto world was shaken when FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, and as its new CEO John Ray reported a litany of gross mismanagement practices at the firm.
The SEC has charged Bankman-Fried with fraud and accused him of funneling billions of dollars of customer funds into his own crypto hedge fund.
O'Neal warmed this year to the idea of endorsing crypto
Before appearing in the FTX commercial in June, O'Neal had publicly expressed skepticism toward cryptocurrencies. He told CNBC in September 2021 that he didn't understand crypto.
"So I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is," he said, per the outlet.
He also told Front Office Sports in June 2021 that he was wary of crypto endorsement offers.
"I always get these companies that say: 'Hey, we'll give you $900,000 in crypto to send out a tweet.' So I have to say: 'OK, if you're going to give me a million dollars worth of crypto, then why do you need me?'" O'Neal told the outlet. "A couple of my friends got caught up in a little scam like that one time."
However, he started teasing the idea of getting involved in crypto-related content in February, musing on Twitter that he could change his handle to SHAQ.SOL — a reference to a cryptocurrency run by blockchain platform Solana.
The NBA hall of fame member did not disclose how much money he received for appearing in the June FTX commercial.
Representatives for O'Neal did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Shaq appears to not know what being a corporate spokesperson means as he distances himself from crypto
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto—Getty Images
Alena Botros
Thu, December 15, 2022
Basketball legend turned businessman Shaquille O’Neal is attempting to distance himself from crypto after being a paid spokesperson for failed exchange FTX and targeted with a lawsuit for it.
“A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial,” O’Neal told CNBC Make it this week.
In that commercial, O’Neal said he partnered with FTX to help make crypto “accessible to everyone.” It was an unexpected alliance considering that a year earlier he told CNBC that he was avoiding the crypto craze.
“I don’t understand it,” O’Neal said at the time. “So I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is.”
His reasoning? He was skeptical of all the stories of people making big money quickly.
“Every time somebody tells me one of those great stories, I like it,” he said. “But from my experience, it is too good to be true.”
Last month, clients of FTX withdrew billions of dollars' worth of holdings after the CEO of rival exchange Binance tweeted that Binance would sell its holding of FTX’s FTT token. Soon after, FTX filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned after news reports that he had allegedly co-mingled funds of FTX clients with another one of his ventures.
This week, Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with several counts of conspiracy and fraud. With its collapse, many FTX users have been unable to withdraw their money from the platform—and it's unclear if they’ll ever get that money back.
In his interview with CNBC this week, O’Neal said his friendship with Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry is why appeared in FTX’s ad. A spokesperson for Curry declined CNBC’s request for comment.
Curry, along with several other celebrities like football star Tom Brady and his soon to be ex-wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, were named in the same lawsuit as O’Neal over FTX.
The lawsuit, filed in Miami by Edwin Garrison last month, seeks class action status on behalf of himself and FTX users against Bankman-Fried and FTX’s celebrity endorsers. The complaint describes FTX as a “Ponzi scheme,” and claims that its celebrity spokespeople had endorsed unregistered securities.
“People know I’m very, very honest,” O’Neal said. “I have nothing to hide. If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront saying, ‘Hey.’ But I was just a paid spokesperson.”
In his FTX commercial, he said he’s just an everyday guy who checks his FTX account—and that he’s “all in.” But when asked this week if he’s bullish on crypto, he just said no.
O’Neal, who is widely known as Shaq, hasn’t shared how much he was paid to be FTX’s spokesperson. But Kevin O’Leary, a regular on ABC’s Shark Tank investor show, who was also among FTX’s celebrity spokespeople, said he was paid around $15 million. O’Leary told CNBC that he put nearly $10 million in crypto, was given $1 million in FTX equity, and $4 million was taken in taxes and other fees— all of it lost when the company collapsed.
FTX's massive $256 million real-estate empire is up for grabs as Bahamian and US lawyers squabble over who should control it
Robert Davis
Thu, December 15, 2022
Cryptocurrency company FTX has had naming rights to the home of the Miami Heat since 2021. Now Miami-Dade County, which owns the arena, wants a bankruptcy judge to terminate the deal after FTX's collapse
Robert Davis
Thu, December 15, 2022
Cryptocurrency company FTX has had naming rights to the home of the Miami Heat since 2021. Now Miami-Dade County, which owns the arena, wants a bankruptcy judge to terminate the deal after FTX's collapse
Miami Herald / Contributor
Lawyers representing the US and the Bahamas disagree on who should control FTX's massive real estate portfolio.
FTX execs allegedly spent more than $256 million acquiring properties on the island nation.
A lawyer monitoring the case told Insider that the timing of the assets' disposal is more important than venue.
Lawyers representing the US and the Bahamas are at odds with one another over who will control the massive real estate empire of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former head of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, according to court filings reviewed by Insider.
Bankman-Fried's real estate holdings — all of which are owned by an FTX subsidiary called FTX Property Holdings, LLC — have become a central part of the bankruptcy case against the crypto exchange as an unspecified number of creditors seek to recover billions of funds from the business. The real estate holdings represent some of the most tangible assets that can be liquidated and redistributed to creditors as lawyers for FTX say that billions of the crypto exchange's assets remain unaccounted for.
According to a court filing from December 12, Bahamian lawyers asserted that Bankman-Fried spent more than $256 million to acquire 35 properties on the island. Reuters first reported in November that Bankman-Fried's purchased tens of millions of real estate in a swank luxury resort community on the island called Albany. FTX had also planned to build a new headquarters on the island, although that project was put on hold in April, according to local reports.
The same lawyers also argued in the December 12 filing that the island nation should have jurisdiction over the liquidation of FTX's real estate assets because Bahamian law does not recognize the legitimacy of a foreign bankruptcy proceeding.
"FTX Property Holdings is a Bahamian corporation that does only one thing, [which is to] own real property located in The Bahamas," the filing reads in part. "All of its known assets and creditors are located in The Bahamas. It has no connection whatsoever to the United States. Respectfully, this court is not the best forum to resolve the issues this case would present."
On the other side, FTX's new CEO, John J. Ray III, who also led the asset recovery efforts when Enron folded in 2001, argued in a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on December 13 that the case needs to stay in the US in order to maximize the asset recovery for the more than 1,000 creditors who lost billions of dollars because of the company's alleged fraud.
"We are working around the clock to locate and secure the property of the estate, a substantial portion of which may be missing, misappropriated, or not readily traceable due to the lack of proper record keeping," Ray told the committee.
While lawyers working on the case squabble over which jurisdiction will ultimately decide the case, other bankruptcy lawyers like John Pintarelli, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop, an international real-estate law firm headquartered in New York City, told Insider that venue may not be the most important aspect.
Presumably, Pintarelli said, regulators and judges in both countries would work to secure the biggest payout possible for the creditors who are owed money. But, that total payout could change if regulators in one country or the other wait too long to liquidate the real estate assets, Pintarelli added.
"No one wants to be sitting on 'the melting ice cube,' as we call it," Pintarelli told Insider. "If real estate values are going down, you want to sell the properties as fast as you can to recover as much as possible for the creditors."
According to market data from brokerage BE Luxury Real Estate, the median sales price of Bahamian real estate grew from about $360,000 in 2020 to more than $630,000 through the first six months of 2021.
FTX initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in Delaware on November 11. In the filing, the company speculated there are more than 100,000 creditors seeking restitution, but another filing from November 14 said FTX "may have more than 1 million creditors" and has liabilities of about $6 billion.
Lawyers representing the US and the Bahamas disagree on who should control FTX's massive real estate portfolio.
FTX execs allegedly spent more than $256 million acquiring properties on the island nation.
A lawyer monitoring the case told Insider that the timing of the assets' disposal is more important than venue.
Lawyers representing the US and the Bahamas are at odds with one another over who will control the massive real estate empire of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former head of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, according to court filings reviewed by Insider.
Bankman-Fried's real estate holdings — all of which are owned by an FTX subsidiary called FTX Property Holdings, LLC — have become a central part of the bankruptcy case against the crypto exchange as an unspecified number of creditors seek to recover billions of funds from the business. The real estate holdings represent some of the most tangible assets that can be liquidated and redistributed to creditors as lawyers for FTX say that billions of the crypto exchange's assets remain unaccounted for.
According to a court filing from December 12, Bahamian lawyers asserted that Bankman-Fried spent more than $256 million to acquire 35 properties on the island. Reuters first reported in November that Bankman-Fried's purchased tens of millions of real estate in a swank luxury resort community on the island called Albany. FTX had also planned to build a new headquarters on the island, although that project was put on hold in April, according to local reports.
The same lawyers also argued in the December 12 filing that the island nation should have jurisdiction over the liquidation of FTX's real estate assets because Bahamian law does not recognize the legitimacy of a foreign bankruptcy proceeding.
"FTX Property Holdings is a Bahamian corporation that does only one thing, [which is to] own real property located in The Bahamas," the filing reads in part. "All of its known assets and creditors are located in The Bahamas. It has no connection whatsoever to the United States. Respectfully, this court is not the best forum to resolve the issues this case would present."
On the other side, FTX's new CEO, John J. Ray III, who also led the asset recovery efforts when Enron folded in 2001, argued in a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on December 13 that the case needs to stay in the US in order to maximize the asset recovery for the more than 1,000 creditors who lost billions of dollars because of the company's alleged fraud.
"We are working around the clock to locate and secure the property of the estate, a substantial portion of which may be missing, misappropriated, or not readily traceable due to the lack of proper record keeping," Ray told the committee.
While lawyers working on the case squabble over which jurisdiction will ultimately decide the case, other bankruptcy lawyers like John Pintarelli, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop, an international real-estate law firm headquartered in New York City, told Insider that venue may not be the most important aspect.
Presumably, Pintarelli said, regulators and judges in both countries would work to secure the biggest payout possible for the creditors who are owed money. But, that total payout could change if regulators in one country or the other wait too long to liquidate the real estate assets, Pintarelli added.
"No one wants to be sitting on 'the melting ice cube,' as we call it," Pintarelli told Insider. "If real estate values are going down, you want to sell the properties as fast as you can to recover as much as possible for the creditors."
According to market data from brokerage BE Luxury Real Estate, the median sales price of Bahamian real estate grew from about $360,000 in 2020 to more than $630,000 through the first six months of 2021.
FTX initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in Delaware on November 11. In the filing, the company speculated there are more than 100,000 creditors seeking restitution, but another filing from November 14 said FTX "may have more than 1 million creditors" and has liabilities of about $6 billion.
SBF’s handcuffs aren't loosening up anytime soon
Jacquelyn Melinek
Thu, December 15, 2022
Welcome back to Chain Reaction.
If you’re reading this, I’m willing to bet you probably weren’t arrested this week and are now sitting in a Bahamian jail. But, you know who was arrested and is sitting in a Bahamian jail right now? Yep, FTX’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.
Seems like the majority of the headlines have been on SBF and FTX lately -- and for good reason. This week’s chatter was surrounded by his anticipated testimony at the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s hearing on FTX’s collapse, which he never spoke at because he was arrested the night before.
After being denied bail, SBF is being held in the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the prison’s max security infirmary with five other inmates in a “dorm-style setting,” according to The Nassau Guardian. And don’t worry, Bahamas’ acting commissioner of corrections Doan Cleare said SBF is in “good spirits” and that the prison is no longer infested with rodents.
Now we can all sleep soundly tonight.
Here are some of the biggest crypto stories TechCrunch has covered this week.
SEC, CFTC and SDNY attorney’s office charge FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried with defrauding investors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially charged disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) with defrauding investors, it revealed on Tuesday morning following his arrest in the Bahamas. The SEC said in a press release that in addition to being charged with fraud regarding equity investors in FTX, he’s also being investigated regarding other securities law violations — and noted that there are ongoing investigations pending against others involved as well. The SEC isn’t the only one getting a hand on this ball, however: Both the Southern District of New York’s attorney’s office and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed charges against SBF in “parallel actions.”
US attorney says ‘we are not done’ charging individuals for FTX collapse
Multiple U.S. government agencies held a press conference Tuesday afternoon regarding the indictment of FTX’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. When asked whether the entities will bring charges against other individuals allegedly involved in the FTX collapse, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said during the event, “I can only say this: Clearly, we are not done.”
FTX’s new CEO, John Ray, details crypto exchange’s downfall in US House testimony (TC+)
As mentioned above, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee held a hearing Tuesday morning focused on FTX’s collapse. John J. Ray III, FTX’s CEO of four weeks, sat as the only witness for the hearing as SBF made an appearance in a Bahamian court for his arraignment. The four-hour hearing covered a lot of ground and left many questions unanswered, but several parts stood out from Ray’s testimony. Given that we presume you couldn’t catch the entire session live, feel free to crib off of our notes.
Sam Bankman-Fried's story keeps getting wilder and weirder as details emerge from his past and more people speak out.
Phil Rosen
Fri, December 16, 2022
Anddddd it's Friday! Phil Rosen here, writing to you just before boarding my flight from New York to Los Angeles.
I've been keeping close tabs on FTX and its disgraced founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The more details that emerge, the more I feel like this is going to make a great Michael Lewis book (and movie) one day.
Today, I'm breaking down the latest on the tee-shirt-and-shorts wearing video-gamer and former billionaire.
sam bankman-fried
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 08: CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried testifies during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill December 8, 2021 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on "Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States."
Alex Wong/Getty Images
1. Bankman-Fried was meant to testify before Congress this week, but for obvious reasons (he was arrested, in case you missed that somehow), the show had to go on without him.
A deep roster of crypto voices sounded off in this week's testimony in Washington DC, as the Senate Banking Committee asked to hear more about the debacle.
We heard from Kevin O'Leary again, who said the market simply needs more (any?) regulation in order to thrive and move on from this fiasco. O'Leary has avoided laying any blame at SBF's feet, and also testified he believes rival exchange Binance intentionally put FTX out of business.
It'd be impressive if you guessed who showed up next — none other than early 2000s heartthrob-turned-crypto critic, Ben McKenzie. The star of "The O.C." has been among the loudest skeptics, and he had a lot to say about the industry, none of it good.
Among the highlights from his testimony include his assertion that the crypto market is "the largest Ponzi scheme in history."
Meanwhile, Congressman Ritchie Torres called Bankman-Fried a "pathological liar" during an interview with CoinDesk. He likened FTX to a college fraternity, with haphazard, reckless bookkeeping.
That aligns with the characterization by new FTX CEO, John Ray III: "I've just never seen an utter lack of record keeping."
Recall that Ray had been brought in to clean up bankrupt energy firm Enron in the early 2000s. He knows a thing or two about accounting scandals.
In his testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, Ray said it could take months to secure all the company's assets, and that his team has secured over $1 billion so far.
According to Ray, under Bankman-Fried's leadership the global conglomerate used QuickBooks to do its accounting.
However, one of the most intriguing anecdotes from this week, as Insider's Morgan Chittum writes, was something from Bankman-Fried's past, long before the fraud allegations.
Long before Bankman-Fried was in the crosshairs of regulators, he attended Crystal Springs Uplands, a top Silicon Valley prep school, and his senior class prank reportedly included making $100 bills with his face on them.
The kicker? The bills were called "Bankmans," Puck reported earlier this week.
His old school had a $56,620 annual tuition, its website shows, and there Bankman-Fried had a reputation as one of the top math students, and also led the "Puzzle Hunt Club," which Puck described as a "particularly nerdy group at an already nerdy high school."
1. Bankman-Fried was meant to testify before Congress this week, but for obvious reasons (he was arrested, in case you missed that somehow), the show had to go on without him.
A deep roster of crypto voices sounded off in this week's testimony in Washington DC, as the Senate Banking Committee asked to hear more about the debacle.
We heard from Kevin O'Leary again, who said the market simply needs more (any?) regulation in order to thrive and move on from this fiasco. O'Leary has avoided laying any blame at SBF's feet, and also testified he believes rival exchange Binance intentionally put FTX out of business.
It'd be impressive if you guessed who showed up next — none other than early 2000s heartthrob-turned-crypto critic, Ben McKenzie. The star of "The O.C." has been among the loudest skeptics, and he had a lot to say about the industry, none of it good.
Among the highlights from his testimony include his assertion that the crypto market is "the largest Ponzi scheme in history."
Meanwhile, Congressman Ritchie Torres called Bankman-Fried a "pathological liar" during an interview with CoinDesk. He likened FTX to a college fraternity, with haphazard, reckless bookkeeping.
That aligns with the characterization by new FTX CEO, John Ray III: "I've just never seen an utter lack of record keeping."
Recall that Ray had been brought in to clean up bankrupt energy firm Enron in the early 2000s. He knows a thing or two about accounting scandals.
In his testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, Ray said it could take months to secure all the company's assets, and that his team has secured over $1 billion so far.
According to Ray, under Bankman-Fried's leadership the global conglomerate used QuickBooks to do its accounting.
However, one of the most intriguing anecdotes from this week, as Insider's Morgan Chittum writes, was something from Bankman-Fried's past, long before the fraud allegations.
Long before Bankman-Fried was in the crosshairs of regulators, he attended Crystal Springs Uplands, a top Silicon Valley prep school, and his senior class prank reportedly included making $100 bills with his face on them.
The kicker? The bills were called "Bankmans," Puck reported earlier this week.
His old school had a $56,620 annual tuition, its website shows, and there Bankman-Fried had a reputation as one of the top math students, and also led the "Puzzle Hunt Club," which Puck described as a "particularly nerdy group at an already nerdy high school."
