Sam Bankman-Fried Testifies: What Will He Reveal Under Oath About FTX’s Collapse?

You’ve already heard the news. Sam Bankman-Fried is going to testify in his own criminal trial. Probably later today.

But what’s he going to say?

I really have no idea. No, seriously, I don’t.

He’s said so much (or is it so little?) already. In the month between FTX’s collapse and his arrest in the Bahamas, Sam spun a story for the cameras of the world. In his telling, the crypto exchange’s early November meltdown wasn’t because it had illegally loaned a bajillion dollars of customer deposits to his hedge fund, Alameda. Or maybe it was. But if it was, he sorta didn’t know about it.

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Here’s generally what he said: In 2022 the crypto market imploded. Alameda took a hit. It definitely had some FTX customer money (a bunch of which it was allowed to have) and then a whole bunch of money definitely went poof. Who’s to say who knew what? Not him. Not really.

“I was vaguely aware,” Sam Bankman-Fried said during his halting Dec. 1, 2022 interview with George Stephanopoulos, portions of which have been played during the trial. Few familiar with the crypto industry believed him. I doubt anyone else did, either.

Nevertheless, two factors were going for Sam at the time: 1. He was operating in a low-information environment, and 2. He wasn’t under oath. Both factors are now invalidated and reversed: they work against him as he takes the stand. Let’s start with the first.

When Sam gave that broadcast interview – his best, first chance to tell his tale to as many normal people as possible – he assumed a unique position of authority as to FTX and its downfall. Sure, there were press reports that hinted at nefarious deals, like Caroline’s alleged tell-all to employees of Alameda, but those were all hearsay. Against that: Sam’s heady opportunity to be a first-person narrator. Caroline wasn’t saying her side directly to the public. HE could, so he did.

LIVE: Sam Bankman-Fried Will Testify Soon Today in the FTX Fraud Trial

The story he gave to GMA was not convincing. His long pauses bled into hardly artful dodges of…