FTX
Valued at $32 billion in January 2022; bankrupt ten months later
A cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, best known for crypto derivatives trading, with a separate US affiliate, FTX US.
- Capital raised (announced)
- Estimated
Recorded announced backing; this is separate from cash received, customer deposits and money recovered.
- Last private valuation
The valuation at which the Series C was raised in January 2022. A price set by a private funding round, not a measure of money raised.
- Creditors listed at filing
As stated in the bankruptcy filing and reported the day it was filed. The filing put both assets and liabilities in the $10 billion to $50 billion range.
Funding
| Round | Date | Announced | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series B | 2021 |
| |
| Series B-1 | 2021 | ||
| FTX US Series A | 2022 | ||
| Series C | 2022 |
Announced is what was said at the time. Cash actually received is rarely disclosed and is not assumed to match.
People
| Name | Role | Period | Now | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Bankman-Fried | Unknown – Nov 2022 | In federal custody, with a projected release date of 3 May 2044 | Oct 2026 | |
| Gary Wang | — | Not established | Oct 2026 |
Timeline
May 2019
Founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang as a crypto derivatives exchange.
20 July 2021
FTX said it had over 1 million users; the report did not define active use.
9 November 2022
Binance had signed a letter of intent to acquire FTX the day before, when FTX could not meet the demand for customer withdrawals.
11 November 2022
Filed with Alameda Research, FTX US and about 130 affiliated companies. Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive and John J. Ray III took over.
How it ended
FTX filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware on 11 November 2022, together with Alameda Research, FTX US and about 130 affiliated companies, after it could not meet a surge in customer withdrawal requests and Binance walked away from a proposed takeover. Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive that day and was replaced by the restructuring specialist John J. Ray III. The estate's plan was confirmed in October 2024 and the first payouts to creditors began in February 2025.
What happened next
- Criminal charges13 December 2022
The charges included wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. He had been arrested in the Bahamas the day before.
- Regulatory action13 December 2022
The CFTC sued Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Trading and Alameda Research, alleging fraud and material misrepresentations. The SEC charged Bankman-Fried with securities fraud the same day.
- Criminal charges21 December 2022
The US Attorney in Manhattan announced that Gary Wang had pleaded guilty to four counts, and Caroline Ellison, former co-chief executive of Alameda Research, to seven, and that both were cooperating with prosecutors.
- Court ruling2 November 2023
He had pleaded not guilty.
- Court ruling28 March 2024
Imposed by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan.
- Court ruling7 October 2024
The estate said 98% of creditors by number would receive about 119% of their allowed claims within 60 days of the plan taking effect.
- Court ruling20 November 2024
With three years of supervised release on each of the four counts, in Manhattan. He was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion, the same as the other co-defendants.
- Recovery18 February 2025
Initial distributions went to creditors in the plan's convenience classes, through BitGo and Kraken.
Still alive
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Sources
14 sources behind this page.
- 1FTX co-founder Gary Wang avoids prison time for role in crypto fraud · CNBC · Nov 2024
- 2FTX's Gary Wang, Alameda's Caroline Ellison plead guilty to federal charges, cooperating with prosecutors · CNBC · Dec 2022
- 3Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all seven criminal fraud counts · CNBC · Nov 2023
- 4Sam Bankman-Fried steps down as FTX CEO as his crypto exchange files for bankruptcy · CNBC · Nov 2022
- 5Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in federal prison · CNN · Mar 2024
- 6FTX Reaches $32B Valuation With $400M Fundraise · CoinDesk · Jan 2022
- 7CFTC Charges Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Trading and Alameda with Fraud and Material Misrepresentations · Commodity Futures Trading Commission · Dec 2022
- 8Inmate locator: Samuel Bankman-Fried · Federal Bureau of Prisons
- 9FTX Commences Initial Distributions to Convenience Class and Sets Next Distribution · PR Newswire (press release issued by FTX Trading Ltd. and the FTX Recovery Trust) · Feb 2025
- 10FTX Trading Ltd. Closes $420 Million Series B-1 Funding Round · PR Newswire (press release issued by FTX Trading Ltd.) · Oct 2021
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- 11FTX Trading Ltd. Closes $900M Series B Round -- Largest Raise in Crypto Exchange History · PR Newswire (press release issued by FTX Trading Ltd.) · Jul 2021
- 12FTX Receives U.S. Bankruptcy Court Confirmation of its Plan of Reorganization · PR Newswire (press release issued by the FTX debtors) · Oct 2024
- 13FTX · Wikipedia · user-editable
- 14Gary Wang (American businessman) · Wikipedia · user-editable
Every figure above is clickable and opens the sources behind it. Copies were stored when each source was read, so a citation still resolves after the page it came from is gone.