The Rise of Michael Jordan: From Finance to Insolvency, Rabbitte Bankman-Fried was a Silicon Valley Silicon Venturer
In this opinion, Rabbitte is in the minority. Before FTX collapsed, Bankman-Fried (or SBF, to some) was very much a main character. The 31-year-old, who styled himself as the respectable face of crypto, steered the exchange to a $32 billion valuation in only three years. He courted regulators, politicians, and venture capitalists. He fraternized with sports stars and supermodels. He seduced reporters at the largest English-speaking publications. He’s the “next Warren Buffet,” they crooned, the “Michael Jordan of crypto.” Decked in his trademark costume—a T-shirt, shorts, and dad sneakers—he projected a humility unlikely of the world’s youngest billionaire.
His parents taught at the university where Bankman-Fried was raised. They were law professors, but mathematics was his forte. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a physics degree, he took a job as a quant trader—someone who programs software to trade for them—at Jane Street Capital, one of the biggest firms on Wall Street. He was drawn to it due to its association with an intellectual movement that advocates for giving away money in order to make more money. The idea struck a chord.
The director of engineering at FTX. Singh was hired by Bankman-Fried and worked as an engineer at Meta. He has pleaded guilty to six criminal charges, including wire fraud, securities and commodities fraud, and money laundering.
The CEO of Alameda Research and on-and-off romantic partner of Bankman-Fried. They met at Jane Street, a quantitative trading firm where they both worked. She pleaded guilty to seven charges including wire fraud and securities and commodities fraud.
Three months before FTX collapsed, the co- CEO of Alameda Research left the post. The DOJ has not accused them of wrongdoing and it is uncertain if he is cooperating with prosecutors. His whereabouts are unknown.
FTX and its subsidiaries are being steered through insolvency by an attorney. Ray became a reputation as a restructuring savant after he oversaw the downfall of Enron, which engaged in extensive accounting and corporate fraud. The prosecution may cite materials Ray compiled as part of the FTX bankruptcy investigation to support its case against Bankman-Fried.
In January, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to each of the seven charges. He was taken into custody after the prosecution alleged that he was tampering with witnesses. The one-time digital currency wunderkind could face decades in prison if convicted at the end of the trial.