On the eighth day of the SBF trial, former BlockFi CEO Zac Prince took the stand, serving as a strong witness for the defense, while offering a detailed look into how Alameda Research’s borrowing from FTX differed from traditional crypto lending, and the impact of FTX’s and Alameda’s collapse on BlockFi, which subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
The defense team tried to pin BlockFi’s loans to Alameda on BlockFi executives ignoring advice from its own credit team, but Prince twice corrected defense attorney Mark Cohen that, for the document in question, the executives did follow the advice of their credit team. The defense also tried to raise the notion that BlockFi would have declared bankruptcy no matter what had happened with FTX and Alameda, but Prince also held his ground that the collapse of SBF’s empire resulted in BlockFi’s own bankruptcy.
Catch up on Unchained’s previous coverage:
- Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: Here’s Everything That Happened So Far
- 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’
- SBF Trial, Day 3: Why a True Believer in FTX Flipped Once He Learned One Fact
- SBF Trial, Day 4: SBF’s Lawyers Annoy Judge Kaplan, While Wang Reveals Alameda’s Special Privileges
- SBF Trial, Day 5: SBF’s Defense Finally Found Its Legs, But Can It Counter Caroline Ellison?
- SBF Trial, Day 6: Caroline Ellison Recalls ‘The Worst Week of My Life’
- Did Sam Bankman-Fried Have Intent to Defraud FTX Investors?
- 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