The first few days of Sam Bankman-Fried's trial have not been going in his favor, general consensus seems to suggest. Prosecutors for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are establishing the case that the FTX founder was deeply involved in a long-term scheme to defraud customers and investors, throwing a wrench in the fallen crypto mogul's legal defense that, while nominally in charge, he was oblivious to the rot taking shape at his exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried always faced an uphill battle in this much-watched trial. Published documents and allegations made by FTX's current leadership, under the direction of Enron's bankruptcy lead John Jay Ray III, as well as SBF's ill-conceived "apology tour" following shortly after FTX closed shop have tainted public perception of the once beloved crypto savant. "SBF is going to be the victim of his own success," Renato Mariotti, partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP who is watching the case, said on CoinDesk TV.
And his "tough, tough, tough case" doesn't seem to be made any easier in the courtroom by defense attorneys with Cohen & Gresser. It's been widely reported that District Judge Lewis Kaplan has appeared visibly annoyed by Bankman-Fried's high-paid lawyers. Some on-lookers said during some attempts at cross-examination, "80%" of defense attorney Chris Everdell's questions were shot down. In fact, prosecutors' objection to misleading questions became so routine, Judge Kaplan at times sustained an objection before it was offered.
But it's early days yet, in a trial that could last six weeks. It's still unknown whether Bankman-Fried, sporting a new haircut, will testify. Mariotti, along with a seeming majority of lawyers, said that would be a gamble at best and like disastrous. Gary Wang, FTX co-founder and longtime friend to SBF, already admitted to committing fraud on the stand, referencing the "special privileges" offered to trading shop Alameda on FTX. While a ex-FTX developer Adam Yedidia said he quit in November 2022 after learning of the scheme to "defraud" customers, a strong point that was stricken from the record.
Here is a roundup of CoinDesk coverage — pulling out the major highlights and details — of the trial so far, and events happening outside the courtroom like revelations from Michael Lewis' confounding biography of Bankman-Fried.
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– D.K.
@danielgkuhn
