The shocking and appalling details of FTX’s collapse are still being uncovered, but new information issued by The Wall Street Journal shows that Sam Bankman-Fried cashed out 71.31% of a top-up to a series B funding round in 2021, taking home $300 million.
What Happened: In a play on the Elon Musk-loved ‘420-69’ joke, FTX initiated a $420,690,000 top-up to a series B funding round in October 2021, which attracted 69 investors, valuing the then-healthy company at $25 billion.
The “420” and “69” are obvious nods to meme culture.
Left unmentioned, though, was the 71.31% (or $300 million) that Bankman-Fried took to the bank.
Read also: Sam Bankman-Fried Used FTX Funds To Buy Personal Items, Homes In The Bahamas, Court Filing Says
The Bahamas-based firm said it raised the fresh cash from a total of 69 investors including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Singapore’s Temasek, BlackRock and Sequoia.
The investment was a top-up of FTX’s series B financing round in July, in which it raised $900 million at an $18 billion valuation.
More Questions On FTX Funds: Shortly before the meme-inspired funding round, Bankman-Fried paid $2.1 billion to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in July, to buy Zhao out a 15% stake that he owned in FTX.
Binance was FTX’s first outside investor.
Read also: Sam Bankman Fried A 'Psychopath,' Says Binance CEO Chanpeng Zhao
The Journal reported that it was unable to determine how Bankman-Fried acquired the funds to purchase the Binance stake. Cryptocurrency was booming at the time, leaving Alameda in a successful place, according to Bankman-Fried.
New FTX CEO John Ray III questioned those finances last week, claiming that Alameda lacked audited financials and that earlier figures were untrustworthy.
How Bankman-Fried's $300 million was used and whether it was invested back into FTX or kept separate could not be ascertained, according to the Journal.
The money was held by FTX for "operational expediency" on behalf of a "related party," according to the company's 2021 audited financial statements, which were obtained by the Journal.
To read about the latest FTX developments, check out Benzinga's FTX home page.
Photo: Courtesy of Bybit on flickr.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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