Benzinga

España
Italia
대한민국
日本
Français
Benzinga Edge
Benzinga Research
Benzinga Pro

  • Get Benzinga Pro
  • Data & APIs
  • Events
  • Premarket
  • Advertise
Contribute
España
Italia
대한민국
日本
Français

Benzinga

  • Premium Services
  • Financial News
    Latest
    Earnings
    Guidance
    Dividends
    M&A
    Buybacks
    Interviews
    Management
    Offerings
    IPOs
    Insider Trades
    Biotech/FDA
    Politics
    Healthcare
    Small-Cap
  • Markets
    Pre-Market
    After Hours
    Movers
    ETFs
    Options
    Cryptocurrency
    Commodities
    Bonds
    Futures
    Mining
    Real Estate
    Volatility
  • Ratings
    Analyst Color
    Downgrades
    Upgrades
    Initiations
    Price Target
  • Investing Ideas
    Trade Ideas
    Long Ideas
    Short Ideas
    Technicals
    Analyst Ratings
    Analyst Color
    Latest Rumors
    Whisper Index
    Stock of the Day
    Best Stocks & ETFs
    Best Penny Stocks
    Best S&P 500 ETFs
    Best Swing Trade Stocks
    Best Blue Chip Stocks
    Best High-Volume Penny Stocks
    Best Small Cap ETFs
    Best Stocks to Day Trade
    Best REITs
  • Money
    Investing
    Cryptocurrency
    Mortgage
    Insurance
    Yield
    Personal Finance
    Forex
    Startup Investing
    Real Estate Investing
    Prop Trading
    Credit Cards
    Stock Brokers
Research
My Stocks
Tools
Free Benzinga Pro Trial
Calendars
Analyst Ratings Calendar
Conference Call Calendar
Dividend Calendar
Earnings Calendar
Economic Calendar
FDA Calendar
Guidance Calendar
IPO Calendar
M&A Calendar
Unusual Options Activity Calendar
SPAC Calendar
Stock Split Calendar
Trade Ideas
Free Stock Reports
Insider Trades
Trade Idea Feed
Analyst Ratings
Unusual Options Activity
Heatmaps
Free Newsletter
Government Trades
Perfect Stock Portfolio
Easy Income Portfolio
Short Interest
Most Shorted
Largest Increase
Largest Decrease
Calculators
Margin Calculator
Forex Profit Calculator
100x Options Profit Calculator
Screeners
Stock Screener
Top Momentum Stocks
Top Quality Stocks
Top Value Stocks
Top Growth Stocks
Compare Best Stocks
Best Momentum Stocks
Best Quality Stocks
Best Value Stocks
Best Growth Stocks
Connect With Us
facebookinstagramlinkedintwitteryoutubeblueskymastodon
About Benzinga
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
Market Resources
  • Advanced Stock Screener Tools
  • Options Trading Chain Analysis
  • Comprehensive Earnings Calendar
  • Dividend Investor Calendar and Alerts
  • Economic Calendar and Market Events
  • IPO Calendar and New Listings
  • Market Outlook and Analysis
  • Wall Street Analyst Ratings and Targets
Trading Tools & Education
  • Benzinga Pro Trading Platform
  • Options Trading Strategies and News
  • Stock Market Trading Ideas and Analysis
  • Technical Analysis Charts and Indicators
  • Fundamental Analysis and Valuation
  • Day Trading Guides and Strategies
  • Live Investor Events
  • Pre-market Stock Analysis and News
  • Cryptocurrency Market Analysis and News
Ring the Bell

A newsletter built for market enthusiasts by market enthusiasts. Top stories, top movers, and trade ideas delivered to your inbox every weekday before and after the market closes.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Data/Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Service Status
  • Sitemap
© 2026 Benzinga | All Rights Reserved
January 12, 2023 12:07 PM 3 min read

Top 4 Craziest Things Sam Bankman-Fried Laid Bare In His New Substack

by Murtuza J Merchant Benzinga Staff Writer
Follow

ArticleFeaturedTickersList12345!!!

Days after being released on a $250 million bond, Sam Bankman-Fried — founder of beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange FTX — turned to social media to deny allegations of misappropriating user funds.

He also slammed Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao for allegedly running a months-long campaign against FTX.

Here are the top 4 craziest things Bankman-Fried said in his post.

See Also: Birds Of A Feather - Bankman-Fried and Madoff Loved To Accumulate Real Estate With Other People's Money

I Didn’t Steal Funds, Certainly Did Not Stash Billions

“I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away,” Bankman-Fried said, adding that the majority of his possessions are still being used to support FTX's customers.

He also claims to have proposed giving away almost all of his personal shares in Robinhood to customers, or even 100% of his holdings, if the Chapter 11 team agreed to cover his legal expenses for the D&O (directors and officers) indemnification.

“FTX International and Alameda were both legitimately and independently profitable businesses in 2021, each making billions,” Bankman-Fried said.

He further said Alameda experienced a significant loss of about 80% of its assets' value due to various market crashes, similar to what happened to Three Arrows Capital (3AC) and other cryptocurrency firms.

Additionally, Alameda's assets dropped even more due to a targeted attack and as a result, FTX was affected by Alameda's decline, like Voyager and others were earlier, by 3AC and other companies.

Alameda Strategy Failed To Cushion Against Targeted Attack

Bankman-Fried stated that Alameda implemented substantial hedges in the summer of 2022, which included a combination of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ether (CRYPTO: ETH), and Invesco QQQ (NASDAQ:QQQ).

Also read: Samsung Takes Lead In Hong Kong's Crypto Market With Upcoming Bitcoin Futures ETF

The hedges in QQQ, BTC, and ETH had worked to some extent, as they had moved roughly half as much as Alameda's portfolio, and BTC/ETH had moved roughly 80% as much, said.

However, the targeted attack in November led to a significant drop in Alameda's assets, where QQQ did not move at all, and the hedges did not end up helping, he added.

Binance's PR Campaign Against FTX

Bankman-Fried claims that Zhao led a months-long effective campaign against his cryptocurrency exchange prior to this.

“Over the course of November 7th and 8th, things went from stressful but mostly under control to clearly insolvent. By November 10th, 2022, Alameda’s balance sheet had only ~$8b of (only semi-liquid) assets left, versus roughly the same ~$8b of liquid liabilities,” he stated.

Ridiculous That FTX US Customers Haven't Gotten Funds Back

Bankman-Fried said when he passed FTX US off to new CEO John Ray and the Chapter 11 team, it had around $350 million in net cash on hand beyond customer balances.

Its funds and customers were segregated from FTX International, he explained.

“It’s ridiculous that FTX US users haven’t been made whole and gotten their funds back yet,” he said.

Next: The Story Behind BONK Token's Meteoric Price Rise And Why Its Liquidity Fee Rate Is Unsustainable

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.


Posted In:
CryptocurrencyNewsTop StoriesMarketsBinanceChangpeng ZhaoCryptocurrency ExchangeFTXRobinhoodSam Bankman-FriedThree Arrows Capital
BTC/USD Logo
$BTCBitcoin
$67116.60-2.45%
Overview
ETH/USD Logo
$ETHEthereum
$1952.61-3.42%
FTT/USD Logo
$FTTFTX Token
Not Available-%
QQQ Logo
QQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
$612.250.13%

Recall how Zhao tweeted on Nov. 6 that Binance was liquidating its entire position in FTX’s native FTT (CRYPTO: FTT) tokens. The news was devastating for FTX, which subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

BTC/USD Logo
$BTCBitcoin
$67116.60-2.45%
Overview
ETH/USD Logo
$ETHEthereum
$1952.61-3.42%
FTT/USD Logo
$FTTFTX Token
Not Available-%
QQQ Logo
QQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
$612.250.13%
Comments
Loading...