On October 4, the SBF trial officially began. After jury selection, the prosecution and defense presented their opening arguments respectively. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed serious charges against SBF, alleging that it knowingly defrauded investors for personal gain, focusing on allegations that it misled customers, investors, and borrowers and stole their funds.

The defense stated that SBF was just a young entrepreneur who made "unsuccessful" business decisions. The defense denied that there were secret transactions or backdoors to steal customer funds between Alameda and FTX, arguing that every transaction was transparent and legal. The legal team argued that SBF believed that FTX’s loan to Alameda was a legitimate business transaction with the market maker.

On the first day of the trial, the jury heard testimony from two witnesses, one a former client of FTX and the other a friend of SBF who had worked at Alameda Research and FTX. Earlier reports stated that SBF had begun trial and could face a maximum sentence of 110 years.