What Caused The FTX Fiasco? A Timeline Of Events So Far

How did the FTX crypto exchange firm collapse? What pushed it to file for bankruptcy? Here is a quick timeline of events, from Sam Bankman-Fried's resignation to his arrest and subsequent bail.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was granted bail by a US Magistrate Court after he was arrested on December 12 by the Royal Bahamas Police. He was forced to resign as CEO of the embattled crypto firm after it went bankrupt. John J. Ray III was appointed as the new CEO of the company that was forced to file for bankruptcy in a US court. A Manhattan Court granted bail to Bankman-Fried on Thursday (December 22). Here is a quick timeline of events that caused FTX fiasco:

May 2019: Sam Bankman-Fried founded the FTX Crypto Exchange Firm in 2019

Bankman-Fried's crypto company reached a valuation of over $32 billion during its peak.

November 6, 2022: The Beginning Of The FTX Fiasco

According to a CoinDesk report, Bankman-Fried's other agency, called Alameda Research, had revealed that most of the firm's balance sheet was full of "highly illiquid" FTT Tokens. Some of them were kept as collateral, the loans. The report showed that Alameda was not an independent company.

Soon, Binance said it will sell off all its FTT holdings. Although Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao clarified that the "move was not against a competitor." In this case, the competitor was FTX.

November 8, 2022: Binance Enters An Agreement To Buy FTX

Changpeng Zhao stated that Binance has reached an agreement to purchase FTX. He added that it was a non-binding agreement. The media reported that this happened after the FTT token's value fell from more than $22 to $6.

November 9, 2022: Binance Makes U-turn

Binance reversed its decision to bail out FTX from the imminent collapse. The company's spokesperson said this was done because of media reports that claimed mismanagement of customer funds and investigations by the US agency.

ALSO RAED: Bankman-Fried Files Fresh Bail Application After First Rejection

November 10, 2022: Suspension Of Onboarding New Clients And Funds By FTX

The FTX started suspending the onboarding of new clients and funds. It also asked its clients to stop putting their funds into the company. Company CEO Sam Bankman-Fried also announced that Alameda Research was shutting down. The Bahamas authorities froze the assets.

November 11, 2022: FTX Filed For Bankruptcy In The US

This day was the watershed moment in the trajectory of FTX, as it filed for bankruptcy in Delaware, US. This resulted in customers and investors losing billions of dollars. Bankman-Fried also resigned as the CEO, and John J. Ray III was appointed the new chief executive of the company.

November 15, 2022: FTX Investor Sued Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX investor Edwin Garrison sued Bankman-Fried and multiple celebrity endorsers of the company for the alleged betrayal of the clients.

November 16, 2022: US House Announced  Hearing 

The US House Financial Services Committee said it would conduct case hearings in December.

December 1, 2022: Sam Bankman-Fried Makes First Public Comment

While making his first public appearance after the meltdown of FTX, Bankman-Fried said that he "did not ever try to commit fraud." 

December 10, 2022: Sam Bankman-Fried Was Scheduled To Testify

He was scheduled to testify before a US House Committee.

December 13, 2022: Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested

The Royal Bahamas Police arrested him on December 13. US prosecutors levelled criminal charges against him. He was sent to the Bahamas Department of Corrections, Fox Hill Prison.

December 15, 2022: Sam Bankman-Fried Filed For Bail

He filed for bail before the Bahamas Supreme Court on December 15.

December 22, 2022: Sam Bankman Gets Bail

He was granted bail by a US Magistrate Court after he signed a bond of $250 million on December 22.

Earlier, Bankman-Fried had stated that he thinks he does not have any criminal liability. In November, he had said, "I didn't ever try to commit fraud." However, in his written testimony, he said, "I would like to start by formally stating, under oath: I messed up."

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