FTX
Last changed 2026-10-27 · Fact-check review — Fact-check review (verdict: revise): the reviewer checked the page's claims against its sources; the trust score did not change. Version history →
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anchored·2GjJcd…YP9WSummary
FTX was a Bahamas-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange founded in May 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang that grew to a peak valuation of $32 billion before collapsing in November 2022 amid revelations that customer funds had been systematically misappropriated and funneled to affiliated trading firm Alameda Research. The collapse, one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history, resulted in an estimated $8 billion shortfall in customer deposits, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing covering more than 130 affiliated entities, and criminal convictions for multiple executives including a 25-year prison sentence for founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Recovery proceedings under successor CEO John Ray III have since distributed more than $10 billion to creditors, with 98% of creditors slated to receive 119% of their November 2022 claim values.
On-Chain Risk Signals
via GoPlus Security- Token can be minted
- Contract is open-source
- Listed on a DEX
No signals reported.
Machine-generated risk signals from GoPlus Security. Findings are point-in-time snapshots and can change. Reviewed by an editor before publication; re-fetched weekly.
Connected Entities
25 entities · 60 linked investigations- FTT→associated with→FTX(80%)
- Samuel Bankman-Fried→member of→FTX(95%)
- Gary Wang→member of→FTX(95%)
- Caroline Ellison→member of→FTX(95%)
- Nishad Singh→member of→FTX(95%)
- Ryan Salame→member of→FTX(90%)
- Changpeng Zhao→member of→FTX(90%)
- John J. Ray III→member of→FTX(90%)
- Lewis Kaplan→member of→FTX(85%)
- Damian Williams→member of→FTX(85%)
- + 68 more
Timeline(34 events)
2017
Sam Bankman-Fried and colleagues from Jane Street found Alameda Research, a crypto quantitative trading firm, in Berkeley, California.
May 2019
FTX exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang. The exchange is incubated within Alameda Research. Alameda begins accessing FTX customer funds, per later trial testimony.
July 2019
FTT token launches as FTX's proprietary exchange token, with the majority of supply held by FTX and Alameda insiders.
December 2019
Binance acquires approximately 20% equity stake in FTX for roughly $100 million.
20 July 2021
FTX raises $900 million at an $18 billion valuation from more than 60 investors including SoftBank and Sequoia Capital.
September 2021
FTX moves headquarters from Hong Kong to Nassau, The Bahamas.
October 2021
FTX buys back Binance's equity stake for approximately $2.1 billion in BUSD and FTT tokens.
14 January 2022
FTX raises $400 million in Series C funding at a $32 billion valuation. Announces FTX Ventures with a $2 billion fund.
May 2022
LedgerX engineers discover code giving Alameda special privileges — including the 'Allow Negative' backdoor — and raise concerns internally. The engineer who escalated the issue is later fired.
2 November 2022
CoinDesk publishes a report revealing Alameda Research's balance sheet is heavily concentrated in FTT tokens, exposing the financial entanglement between FTX and Alameda.
6 November 2022
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announces on Twitter that Binance will liquidate its FTT holdings due to 'recent revelations,' triggering a market panic.
8 November 2022
Binance signs a non-binding letter of intent to acquire FTX. FTT price collapses approximately 80%, wiping more than $2 billion in value. FTX experiences an estimated $6 billion bank run.
9 November 2022
Binance withdraws from the FTX acquisition after reviewing FTX's books, citing mishandled customer funds and regulatory investigations.
11 November 2022
FTX Trading Ltd., FTX US, Alameda Research, and approximately 130 affiliated entities file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Sam Bankman-Fried resigns as CEO. John J. Ray III is appointed CEO.
December 2022
U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee holds a hearing, 'Why Congress Needs to Act: Lessons Learned From the FTX Collapse,' featuring CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam.
12 December 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Nassau, Bahamas by Royal Bahamas Police Force. DOJ, SEC, and CFTC file parallel criminal and civil charges.
13 December 2022
John J. Ray III testifies before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, describing 'a complete failure of corporate controls' at FTX.
21 December 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried extradited to the United States after consenting to extradition.
22 December 2022
Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison plead guilty to multiple fraud-related charges and agree to cooperate with prosecutors.
February 2023
Nishad Singh pleads guilty to fraud and campaign finance violations, agrees to cooperate with prosecutors.
September 2023
Ryan Salame pleads guilty to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
3 October 2023
Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried begins in the Southern District of New York before Judge Lewis Kaplan.
2 November 2023
Jury finds Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on all seven criminal counts.
28 March 2024
Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $11.02 billion.
11 April 2024
Sam Bankman-Fried files an appeal of his conviction and sentence.
28 May 2024
Ryan Salame sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison.
August 2024
CFTC obtains $12.7 billion consent judgment against FTX and Alameda Research — the largest monetary sanction in CFTC history.
24 September 2024
Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion.
7 October 2024
Delaware bankruptcy court approves FTX's reorganization plan, providing 98% of creditors with 119% of their November 2022 claim values plus interest.
18 February 2025
First distribution to FTX creditors begins: approximately $454 million paid out.
30 May 2025
Second creditor distribution of approximately $5 billion.
30 September 2025
Third creditor distribution of approximately $1.6 billion. Cumulative distributions reach approximately $7.1 billion.
2026
Caroline Ellison released from federal custody after serving approximately 14 months.
31 March 2026
Fourth creditor distribution of approximately $2.2 billion commences. Cumulative distributions exceed $10 billion.
Decision Log
- slot 462185890 · hash A7ec6VVGq6XSdty8GhGGyBGQBZjLzC1EXq3YJtM6Qz6J
- slot 462185884 · hash CrYb4ThiuNJtaHPpH3oLgX4KTYYCz9v2PfmKJsrTQ39o
- slot 445508124 · hash 4F9LCo45zPUqE9d1sVZinSUAjRM894VQMwnnyxakyxVm
- slot 419519516 · hash 7h51AFvEzfsUS3ktMeLYqigP7p5b1dmz8xj2J55LFUxL
- slot 419519509 · hash 8MeguxKUVWyQdZrbaZc5RSrkCFmBhRLasKoTdphNZ3P7
- slot 419335123 · hash 4qFQUwpzEa61JtR7EWj8xmMF7TcM884j8ue27wxTHPEg
- slot 419335116 · hash 2BgzAAyb9qAMcTiryJSdRW5VXAeyDfWWgkik8pkAHyMb
- slot 418995145 · hash 5Ygi6HFPnUekLR9ymeBKTrQu2kmk4Y4tZGbnfS6Tz3tB
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (8 decisions). 28 of 33 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 4/17/2026, 4:23:04 PM
last updated: 10/27/2026, 7:16:57 PM
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