Nov 11 (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried on Friday resigned from his position as chief govt of FTX and the crypto alternate stated it would provoke chapter proceedings in the USA, capping off a tumultuous week for the business.
Following are some details in regards to the co-founder and former CEO:
EDUCATION AND VENTURES BEFORE FTX
Born in 1992, Sam Bankman-Fried grew up in California. As a highschool pupil, he attended the Canada/USA Mathcamp, a summer season program for mathematically proficient college students that additionally counts his future enterprise accomplice Gary Wang amongst its alumni.
Bankman-Fried later graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Expertise (MIT) with a level in physics. He traded currencies, futures and exchange-traded funds for Jane Avenue Capital.
After a greater than three-year stint on the New York-based agency, he moved to crypto buying and selling and based Alameda Analysis in 2017. Apart from buying and selling main cryptocurrencies, the corporate additionally dabbled in different digital asset merchandise and their derivatives.
FOUNDING OF FTX
Greater than a yr and a half after beginning Alameda, Bankman-Fried teamed up with Gary Wang, a former software program engineer at Google and a fellow MIT graduate, to start out FTX. The corporate provided buying and selling on crypto tokens and derivatives, whereas additionally boasting of a sturdy danger administration system. Bankman-Fried, usually referred to by his initials SBF, introduced Binance on board as FTX’s first investor.
Bankman-Fried was based mostly in Hong Kong, the place his firm was headquartered earlier. Final yr, he moved to the Bahamas when FTX determined to shift its headquarters to the archipelago nation.
WEALTH
Earlier than the FTX collapse worn out most of SBF’s wealth, he was one of many richest folks within the digital asset business. Forbes estimates his internet price to have peaked at $26.5 billion amid a wave of institutional adoption that pumped up crypto costs to file highs final yr.
After a liquidity disaster at his corporations, his internet price is now reported to be round $991 million.
Information launched forward of the U.S. midterm elections confirmed he was the sixth-largest political donor, having contributed $39.8 million with the overwhelming majority going to assist Democrats.
CELEBRITY INTEREST
Nationwide Soccer League quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen took stakes in FTX final yr. The corporate additionally signed NBA star Steph Curry as an envoy.
In February, pop star Katy Perry posted on Instagram, “im quitting music and changing into an intern for @ftx_official okay”, reportedly after a chat with SBF the day earlier than.
Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Modifying by Shounak Dasgupta
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