Before Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto empire exploded in November 2022, he acted– in a market doing not have a traditional backstop like the Federal Reserve– as the rescuer of a couple hobbled business, BlockFi and Voyager.
He affirmed Friday at his criminal scams and conspiracy trial that there were a couple other prominent circumstances where he handed down assisting. Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert asked FTX CEO Bankman-Fried for equity capital for DCG’s Genesis subsidiary at some point throughout the crypto market decline in 2015, Bankman-Fried informed jurors Friday.
Genesis was severely damaged by the collapse in 2015 of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, suffering a significant loss. It wound up declare personal bankruptcy after FTX’s own collapse and ultimately stopped providing trading services. (DCG likewise owns CoinDesk.)
Bankman-Fried likewise affirmed that Celsius, a crypto exchange and lending institution, likewise requested emergency situation funds, however he shot down the demand. (It, too, declared bankruptcy, in July 2022, as did Voyager that month, before FTX’s collapse, and BlockFi later in November.)
Ex-Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, right, near a federal court house in Manhattan on Oct. 3, 2023 (Victor Chen/CoinDesk)
Spokespeople for DCG and Celsius didn’t instantly react to ask for remark.
Modified by Nick Baker and Marc Hochstein.
