In January 2022, FTX was the golden child of crypto. A 30-year-old founder. A $32 billion valuation. Tom Brady in the ads, and an NBA arena carrying its name. But FTX had a hidden door. Billions of dollars in customer deposits were quietly funneled to Sam Bankman-Fried’s private trading firm, Alameda Research. The two companies were supposed to be separate. They were not. And the collateral propping the whole thing up was FTT, a token FTX had printed itself. Then a leaked balance sheet exposed the scheme. Rivals dumped the token. Customers raced for the exits. $6 billion in withdrawal requests hit in 72 hours. The vault was empty. On November 11, 2022, FTX filed for bankruptcy. $8 billion in customer funds, gone. Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of fraud and sentenced to
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