We just discovered Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang turned on @SBF_FTX, rattling him out to the Feds. The SEC’s civil (non-criminal) complaint is built on their participation and gives us our first “insider’s account” of the FTX disaster.
I’ve given you 12 key takeaways below:👇🧵
1. It is what we thought:
• SBF lied
• Wang built a back door to FTX for Alameda to sweep funds
• Caroline ran Alameda (Sam’s personal fund)
• Sam invested in real estate, politicians, and venture capital 😅
2. 💥 Sam told me to do it
Caroline says Sam directed her to take customer funds from FTX in exchange for the made-up $FTT shitcoin. (In green highlight) This directly contradicts Sam’s repeated “I didn’t know” statements.
Despite already having “borrowed” billions and billions of FTX customer assets, by May, when crypto went bump in the night, Alameda (Sam) couldn’t fulfill its borrower obligations.
Sam ordered Caroline to take even more FTX customer money.
4. “Brazen, Multi-Year Scheme”
The violations peaked in 2022, but began years ago…from the start of FTX. This wasn’t a recent accident. It was a multi-year fraud.
5. Sam and Gary Own 100% of Alameda
Anytime someone says “Alameda,” just substitute “Sam.”
Sam owns 90% of Alameda and Gary 10%. Alameda has no clients - all that money is Sam and Gary’s, stolen fair and square.
6. Sam was ALWAYS in Control
Even after naming Caroline and Sam Trabucco as Co-CEOs of Alameda in 2021, Sam remained in absolute control.
He frequently communicated with Alameda peeps and had full access to its books and records.
Alameda *IS* Sam, so this makes sense.
7. Alameda (Sam) was Exempted from FTX’s Risk Management Process
As has been widely discussed, FTX had a decent risk-engine, it just didn’t apply to its biggest user: Sam himself (via Alameda).
At least Sam posted high-quality SamCoins - $FTT - as collateral. 😅
8. Sam CREATED Alameda’s Deal and Took Actions to Hurt FTX
Over $8 BILLION of customer funds were wired by customers DIRECTLY TO ALAMEDA rather than FTX.
Eight. Billion.
This was a de facto loan. Sam ensured Alameda (Sam) did NOT have to pay FTX interest on that money.
9. Securities Fraud
Among the many frauds Sam et al committed was the securities fraud.
The SEC frowns on poorly written footnotes. Imagine how it treats you lying to would-be investors about your fraud to raise fresh equity.
“Fraud squared,” or something.
10. Magic Money in a Box was a “Security”😬
SamCoins, ShitCoins, Web3 “tokens,” magic beans. Call em what you want, but they’re entirely fabricated from dreams.
And Sam lied about them.
A lot.
And they “manipulated” the price of $FTT.
And the SEC declares it a security.👀
Quick Aside (unrelated to FTX): if tokens are securities, many, MANY people broke the law. Entrepreneurs, promoters, and - yikes! - prominent venture capitalists. I’d watch out here. We may see VCs in handcuffs…
11. Undocumented Personal Loans in the Billions
If you have your fund “borrow” customer brokerage assets, then “lend” those from your fund to yourself, but you don’t document the loan, is it even a loan? Doesn’t that just make it money laundering?
Say it with me: “RICO.”
12. FTX Customers Withdrew $5 Billion in ONE DAY 😮
It also had history’s all-time least surprising $8 billion shortfall. Oops!
End:
That’s the SEC civil complaint summary - the criminal complaints will have more.
The most fascinating part to me is the implications beyond FTX’s shores (see the “Quick Aside” before #11).
Today we learned while the voice of the people may be the voice of the gods, in Delaware there’s only one true god:
And her name is Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick. 1/x 🧵👇
Below is a brief thread breaking down her denial of Elon’s request for $55 billion in $TSLA stock.
2. Her original January 2024 ruling highlighted several flaws in the years old shareholder vote that was meant to award Elon massive stock compensation, if he delivered massive value to $TSLA shareholders.
Her determination wiped out Musk’s entire equity grant, stating Tesla failed to follow required procedures, which invalidated the original vote from years ago to grant the compensation package.
3. Tesla asked her to review her ruling.
Then, this past summer, Tesla held a new shareholder vote to (re)affirm the prior flawed compensation package.
Today’s 103 page decision responded to that request AND was meant to decide how much the plaintiffs’ lawyers should be paid.
Mrs. B founded Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1937 with $500 of savings, selling 90% to Warren Buffett’s $BRK 50 years later for $55 million.
Even at 94-years old, she continued to work 70 hour weeks, pricing rugs and carpets from memory. 🧵👇
“We like managers who are in love with their business…who feel like I do - I want to tap dance when I get to the office,” is how Buffett answered Adam Smith’s question about the Berkshire Hathaway culture. 1/x
Mrs B barely spoke English when she started NFM; she sought a $75 business loan and was denied.
50 years later, what did she think of the doubters?
“I still hate them. Anybody who does you dirty, you should never forgive and forget.” ☠️
- Rose Blumkin at 94 years young
Mrs. B had uncommon sense:
“God blessed me: anything I do, I make money.”
Mrs. B’s daughter on growing up:
“The customer was God - that came first and we came next,” she laughingly shared.
Most people assume it makes its money as a crypto exchange.
True...sort of.
Its rev comes as much from interest income on its cash balances + its share of $USDC's cash ($COIN owns a share of USDC owner, Circle) as from transactions.
Worrisome.
🧵👇
2. Interest Income is Lower Quality
Even as $COIN's core transaction revenue has declined by nearly HALF, its interest income has skyrocketed with rising rates.
In Q2 2022, interest was 5% of revenue; in Q2 2023, it was 35%...
3. Stablecoin Revenue
...in Q3, interest income hit nearly 40% !!! of revenue.
(With $COIN restructuring its deal with Circle, Coinbase's share of $USDC interest income is now categorized as "Stablecoin Revenue.")
I expect $COIN just achieved peak interest income.