Did Sam Bankman-Fried Have Intent to Defraud FTX Investors?

The blockbuster trial of Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up its third day, with multiple witnesses, including former FTX software developer Adam Yedidia, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang, taking the witness stand. Joshua Ashley Klayman, Senior Counsel, U.S. Head of FinTech and Head of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Linklaters, discusses the main takeaways from the trial so far, the surprising testimonies given by former close associates of SBF, and how the prosecution and defense plan to paint a picture of who SBF is to the jury.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:

• What Josh’s biggest takeaways from the trial are so far
• Why Josh felt that the jury had “a lot to take in” in order to understand the basics of the case
• Whether the different backgrounds of the jury will affect the outcome of the trial
• Why the prosecution is arguing that regardless of the technical aspects of the case, the key issue is fraud
• How the defense plans to argue that SBF did not intend to defraud investors
• Why the selection of the first witness, a former FTX customer, is an “interesting” choice, according to Josh
• What is the fiat@ftx.com account and how it contributed to FTX’s undoing
• How they discovered the $8 billion hole in the FTX balance sheet and SBF’s reaction at the time
• What an email revealed about the lack of corporate governance in FTX and Alameda

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Guest

• Joshua Ashley Klayman, Senior Counsel, U.S. Head of FinTech and Head of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Linklaters
  • Previous appearances on Unchained:
    • Gary Gensler vs. Crypto: What Will the SEC Attack Next?
    • How Crypto And Blockchain Technology Should Be Regulated

Links

• Previous coverage by Unchained on the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried:
  • SBF Trial, Day 1: Possible Witnesses Include FTX Insiders, Big Names in Crypto, and SBF’s Family
  • SBF Trial, Day 2: DOJ Says Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Lied’ While Defense Claims His Actions Were ‘Reasonable’
  • Here’s How Sam Bankman-Fried’s High-Stakes Trial Could Play Out
  • SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case
  • The High-Stakes Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried Begins: What to Expect
  • In the SBF Case, Elite Corruption Is What’s Really on Trial