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Sam Bankman-Fried rumor mill running amok: Trading course, FBI extradition, FTX hack

A rumor claiming that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried filmed a master class on trading that was scheduled to be released in December floated on social media.

Rumors and speculations surrounding former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) continue to bombard the crypto community as the effects of the FTX collapse proceeds to be felt throughout the crypto space. 

One of the rumors floating around social media is that SBF filed a masterclass on trading that was scheduled to drop on December. With the former FTX CEO being the center of attention in the past few weeks, some community members pointed out that they were willing to pay $500 for leaks on footage of SBF's class on trading. 

Reports citing anonymous sources pointed out that American and Bahamian authorities are talking about flying SBF to the United States for questioning. Despite the rumors, anonymous sources have also claimed that no one has been taken into custody yet. However, social media posts also claim that the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office is preparing charges against the former FTX CEO for defrauding customers and Bahamian authorities seized FTX Digital Markets’ assets. 

Aside from these, the FTX hacker who drained $288 million worth of Ether (ETH) from FTX started to swap almost $8 million worth of BNB (BNB) tokens for ETH and Binance USD (BUSD). As the hacker moved the funds, crypto community members speculated on the identity of the hacker, suggesting that it could be an FTX insider or SBF himself.

Related: The FTX contagion: Which companies were affected by the FTX collapse?

As the FTX collapse continues to spread its impact, rumors also keep on flying throughout the internet. Last week, rumors of SBF’s arrest and claims that employees are scrambling to sell the company’s assets were circulating online. In addition to these, unconfirmed claims that employees invested and lost their life savings on the exchange also ran wild on Twitter. 

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter also recently told Cointelegraph that the former FTX CEO and FTX executives are looking to flee to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, this plan may not bear fruit as the United States and the UAE signed a treaty that works against criminals on Feb. 24, 2022.

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Rumors continue to fly surrounding Sam Bankman-Fried and the fall of FTX

A rumor suggesting that FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested is circulating on social media.

The crypto community continues to be bombarded with rumors and conspiracy entering into the fifth day of FTX's fall.

From reports that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was arrested on the tarmac at the Bahamas airport to rumors that employees of the exchange are trying to sell the company’s assets, it has been very difficult for the community to separate fact from fiction.

PAULY.SOL, the founder of the nonfungible token (NFT) project Not Larva Labs was one of the first to spur rumors of SBF’s arrest. The NFT founder retweeted a post of a Flightradar24 map that reported a private jet to have been grounded for around 40-minutes while on the way to Miami from Nassau — the capital of Bahamas where FTX is headquartered.

Many community members replied to the thread with pictures of SBF edited into police arrests, highlighting the possibility of the private jet transporting the FTX CEO. Despite this, there has been no confirmation that this is indeed SBF. 

Meanwhile, a report citing anonymous sources mentioned that employees of the collapsing exchange are working to try and sell the company's assets while their CEO is away. The assets reportedly include the stock-clearing platform Embed and naming rights to the FTX arena in Miami.

Apart from these, a post on social media claimed that many FTX employees have invested their life savings in the company because of their confidence in SBF. However, the employees now fear that their funds have been sent to Alameda Research. In addition, a report citing anonymous sources has also claimed that SBF has been selling equity at a 50% discount to the exchange’s employees back in the spring.

While the rumors continue to spur panic within the crypto market, a lot of the information coming out of social media and various reports are unconfirmed information from anonymous sources.

Related: FTX crisis feeds the Twitter rumor mill with hot takes and conspiracy theories

Meanwhile, an official media release from the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) highlighted that the government agency has frozen the assets of FTX. According to the SCB, it will preserve the company’s assets and stabilize the company by putting it into provisional liquidation, a mechanism put into action in case of corporate insolvency.

Additional reporting by Brayden Lindrea

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