SBF Trial, Day 4: SBF's Lawyers Annoy Judge Kaplan, While Wang Reveals Alameda’s Special Privileges

Laura reports on the testimony of Gary Wang on Thursday, who described Alameda’s special privileges that were programmed into FTX’s code as early as July 2019, a few months after the exchange launched. 

These privileges included Alameda’s ability to have a negative balance on its FTX account. This meant that Alameda was able to transfer and withdraw more funds than it had, essentially “borrowing from the exchange.” Those funds, Wang said, belonged to FTX customers, and at the time that FTX declared bankruptcy, Alameda had borrowed $8 billion from the exchange. 

Wang said Alameda had a $65 billion line of credit — far higher than any other customer on the exchange. He also revealed details about FTT, the cryptocurrency that FTX had created, and the concerns that were raised about how the tokens were allegedly used to boost Alameda’s balance on the site.

If you need to catch up, don’t miss our recent coverage on the trial:

• SBF Trial, Day 3: Long-Time Friend Says, ‘FTX Defrauded All of Its Customers’
• SBF Trial, Day 2: DOJ: Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Lied’ His Way to ‘Wealth, Power, and Influence’
• SBF Trial, Day 1: Possible Witnesses Include FTX Insiders, Big Names in Crypto, and SBF’s Family
• Here’s How Sam Bankman-Fried’s High-Stakes Trial Could Play Out
• SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case
• The High-Stakes Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried Begins: What to Expect
• In the SBF Case, Elite Corruption Is What’s Really on Trial

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