A young entrepreneur or a liar who got rich by stealing people's money? That was the tone between the defense and prosecution in the early hours of Sam Bankman-Fried's six-week trial.
The former FTX CEO faces a total of seven counts related to fraud and fraud charges. If convicted on these charges, he could spend more than 100 years in prison.
At the hearing, Bankman-Fried appeared focused on his defense strategy, constantly checking his laptop and his lawyers' paperwork. In his opening statement, the defense attorney focused on the issue of whether the 12 jurors will decide whether Bankman-Fried knowingly misappropriated clients' money or whether mistakes were made in good faith.
Two witnesses testified on the first day of the trial: French trader Marc Juilliard, who lost four Bitcoins worth more than $100,000 in November 2022, and Adam Yedidia, SBF's personal friend and former Alameda and FTX employee.
FTX ad campaigns, celebrity endorsements and SBF tweets were among the evidence prosecutors used to prove SBF lied to its customers while defrauding them.
As for the defense, it's okay to hire Tom Brady for a commercial and file for bankruptcy during a market downturn.
The third day of the trial will begin around 10 a.m. in federal court in Manhattan. It's Yedidia's second deposition period and will include FTX co-founder Gary Wang, a key witness in the case.
Cointelegraph is onsite with the latest updates on the hearing in New York. Follow live updates here.
The former FTX CEO faces a total of seven counts related to fraud and fraud charges. If convicted on these charges, he could spend more than 100 years in prison.
At the hearing, Bankman-Fried appeared focused on his defense strategy, constantly checking his laptop and his lawyers' paperwork. In his opening statement, the defense attorney focused on the issue of whether the 12 jurors will decide whether Bankman-Fried knowingly misappropriated clients' money or whether mistakes were made in good faith.
Two witnesses testified on the first day of the trial: French trader Marc Juilliard, who lost four Bitcoins worth more than $100,000 in November 2022, and Adam Yedidia, SBF's personal friend and former Alameda and FTX employee.
FTX ad campaigns, celebrity endorsements and SBF tweets were among the evidence prosecutors used to prove SBF lied to its customers while defrauding them.
As for the defense, it's okay to hire Tom Brady for a commercial and file for bankruptcy during a market downturn.
The third day of the trial will begin around 10 a.m. in federal court in Manhattan. It's Yedidia's second deposition period and will include FTX co-founder Gary Wang, a key witness in the case.
Cointelegraph is onsite with the latest updates on the hearing in New York. Follow live updates here.