FTX's former CTO Gary Wang appeared in court again on the fourth day of former CEO Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried's criminal trial to talk about connections between the crypto exchange and Alameda Research.
Wang returned to a New York court on October 6 and stated that Alameda's FTX account was the only account authorized to process more than those available, a feature called "negative consent," Inner City Press reports. The former CTO alleged that Bankman-Fried ordered Wang and former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh to implement the feature in 2019.
Adding a “negative allowance” allowed Alameda to hit a negative balance in 2020 that was more than FTX’s revenue — $200 million to $150 million, according to FTX codes, according to Wang. Wang claimed that Bankman-Fried gave Alameda a $65 billion credit line despite making adverse public statements about the relationship between the two companies.
Wang claimed that Bankman-Fried's "special privileges" at Alameda's FTX centered around the exchange's FTT token, saying the company used it to make transactions "while the account balance was below zero." The former CTO claimed that Alameda was able to withdraw funds directly from FTX.
At the center of the case is Bankman-Fried's former CEO, who is accused of using FTX user funds at Alameda without customers' consent. At his deposition on Oct. 5, Wang acknowledged collusion with Bankman-Fried and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, and pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December 2022.
Bankman-Fried's criminal trial is expected to continue through November. Ellison and Singh are also possible witnesses against the former CEO. SBF will likely remain in jail throughout the trial after Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked his bail in August. It's unclear whether Bankman-Fried herself plans to testify.
Wang returned to a New York court on October 6 and stated that Alameda's FTX account was the only account authorized to process more than those available, a feature called "negative consent," Inner City Press reports. The former CTO alleged that Bankman-Fried ordered Wang and former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh to implement the feature in 2019.
Adding a “negative allowance” allowed Alameda to hit a negative balance in 2020 that was more than FTX’s revenue — $200 million to $150 million, according to FTX codes, according to Wang. Wang claimed that Bankman-Fried gave Alameda a $65 billion credit line despite making adverse public statements about the relationship between the two companies.
Wang claimed that Bankman-Fried's "special privileges" at Alameda's FTX centered around the exchange's FTT token, saying the company used it to make transactions "while the account balance was below zero." The former CTO claimed that Alameda was able to withdraw funds directly from FTX.
At the center of the case is Bankman-Fried's former CEO, who is accused of using FTX user funds at Alameda without customers' consent. At his deposition on Oct. 5, Wang acknowledged collusion with Bankman-Fried and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, and pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December 2022.
Bankman-Fried's criminal trial is expected to continue through November. Ellison and Singh are also possible witnesses against the former CEO. SBF will likely remain in jail throughout the trial after Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked his bail in August. It's unclear whether Bankman-Fried herself plans to testify.