The trial of FTX’s former CEO has more exciting twists and turns than expected. As the case progresses, a surprising twist emerges. Recently, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) long-time friend decided to cooperate with the U.S. government by testifying against him.
FTX co-founder Gary Wang vs SBF
True friendship is often revealed in difficult times. It is an adage that Sam Bankman-Fried is now familiar with. Since the beginning of his legal battle as he watched his friends fall out of step one by one. First, it was Caroline his ex-girlfriend, then Gary Wang his childhood friend and co-founder of FTX.
At the hearing on Thursday, October 5, Gary Wang made a choice quite unexpected for some: cooperate with justice to testify against Sam Bankman-Fried. Alongside Caroline Ellison, director of Alameda, Wang pleaded guilty to several serious charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. These charges could result in up to 50 years in prison.
Gary Wang’s involvement in the FTX affair
Gary Wang real name Zixiao was born in China, but his family moved to Minnesota, USA, when he was eight years old. From an early age, he had a passion for mathematics and programming. He met Sam Bankman-Fried at a math camp in 2008, and their friendship has grown stronger over the years. They also met Sam Trabucco who will become co-CEO of Alameda.
Unlike Bankman-Fried, Wang was not directly involved in the day-to-day running of the company. His area of expertise was code and technology. As Technical Director, his mission was to ensure that FTX is able to handle increasingly large transaction volumes.
However, in his testimony, Wang revealed that he had been asked to modify the code of FTX to grant Alameda special privileges”, including the right to borrow up to $65 billion.
Wang admitted to making these changes to the code while knowing that others were misrepresenting to investors and customers, claiming that Alameda had no special privileges.
Wang’s testimony is of particular importance, as he is one of a group of executives who were at the heart of FTX’s operations. This case promises many more twists and turns. Stay tuned so you don’t miss anything!
As a journalist at Coinpri, I’ve been captivated by the world of bitcoin and blockchain since 2020. The decentralized aspect of Bitcoin particularly piqued my interest. Since then, I’ve been working constantly to spread my knowledge, hoping one day to see a world where everyone fully enjoys their financial freedom.
