Sam Bankman-Fried’s $32 billion FTX empire is now bankrupt, sending markets crumbling — and the saga is far from over.
Ever since FTX failed to withstand a $6 billion bank run last week, the once mighty brand has gone down as one of the worst catastrophes in digital asset history.
But it was only six days ago that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao had announced a plan to acquire FTX, a deal which would’ve seen the world’s top crypto exchange absorb its primary rival.
The timeline below tracks major events leading up to the FTX group filing for bankruptcy last Friday, along with more than 130 subsidiaries and adjacent businesses including trading unit Alameda Research.
Nov. 9 — Wednesday: From bad to worse
FTX sister firm Alameda Research’s website goes offline reading: “This site is currently private” as it halts trading with at least one regular counterparty, a Blockworks source says.
The Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission begin investigating whether FTX מיכאַנדאַלד קונה געלט.
Rival exchange Binance גייט צוריק plans to acquire FTX following its “due diligence,” which determines the $8 billion balance sheet black hole isn’t worth it.
Nov. 10 — Thursday: FTX hunts for capital
Bankman-Fried, still FTX CEO, vows to plow ahead in search of outside liquidity to plug his leaking ship. He pledges “radical transparency” and a desire to make his customers whole.
He simultaneously announces Alameda is winding down operations on FTX. Later, Bankman-Fried tells his staff in a memo that he is seeking a capital rescue package worth some $9.4 billion from the likes of Tron’s Justin Sun and stablecoin issuer Tether, Reuters reported.
Tether freezes $46 million USDT held by FTX on the Tron blockchain following a request from law enforcement. Trading activity causes the stablecoin’s dollar peg to וואַקלענ זיך while chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino says cash redemptions are flowing smoothly.
Only FTX users in Bahamas allowed to withdraw
After FTX suspended digital asset withdrawals on Tuesday, on-chain data shows the exchange on Thursday processing some $7.2 million in requests by those residing in די באַהאַמאַס, where the firm is headquartered.
The restrictions on non-Bahamas users leads to some smuggling capital out via peculiar NFT sales.
באנקמאן־פריד קליימז allowing Bahamas residents to withdraw while barring the rest of the world was in line with regulator requests. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas later denies that was the case.
Source: https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-bankrupt-hacked-investigated-a-timeline-of-events/