Finance · Profile from Finance Research Companion
FTX (FTX Trading Ltd. and West Realm Shires / FTX US)
A crypto derivatives exchange founded in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, built on the back of their trading firm Alameda Research, that raised ~$2bn from blue-chip investors at a peak valuation of ~$32bn (January 2022), spent heavily on stadium names, a Super Bowl ad and political donations to become the "responsible" face of crypto in Washington, ran a separate US exchange (FTX US) and a CFTC-licensed derivatives clearing house (LedgerX), and collapsed in nine days in November 2022 when a run exposed that roughly $8bn of customer money had been moved to Alameda. FTX, Alameda and ~130 affiliates filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware on November 11, 2022. Bankman-Fried was convicted in the Southern District of New York on all seven counts on November 2, 2023 and sentenced to 25 years on March 28, 2024; the Second Circuit upheld the conviction in June 2026. Under John J. Ray III the estate recovered far more than anyone expected, and by mid-2026 had distributed ~$10–11bn, with most customer classes paid more than 100% of their November 2022 dollar claims, though far less than their coins would later have been worth.
At a glance
- Founded
- Alameda Research: November 2017 (Berkeley, California, later Hong Kong); FTX exchange: launched May 2019 (reported)
- Founders
- Sam Bankman-Fried (CEO) and Gary Wang (CTO); Nishad Singh (engineering director) joined early
- Headquarters
- Hong Kong (2019–21), then Nassau, The Bahamas (from 2021); FTX US in Chicago and Miami
- Ownership / structure
- Private. Four "silos" in the bankruptcy: the WRS silo (West Realm Shires Inc., owner of FTX US and LedgerX), the Dotcom silo (FTX Trading Ltd., the international exchange, and FTX Digital Markets in The Bahamas), the Alameda silo, and the Ventures silo (Clifton Bay / FTX Ventures)
- Leadership
- Bankman-Fried (CEO to November 11, 2022); Ryan Salame (co-CEO, FTX Digital Markets); Brett Harrison then (from September 2022) no one as president of FTX US; Caroline Ellison and Sam Trabucco (Alameda co-CEOs, Trabucco left August 2022); after filing, John J. Ray III (CEO and chief restructuring officer)
- Segment and customers
- Crypto exchange: spot, perpetual futures, options and leveraged tokens for ~1m+ active global retail and institutional users; FTX US served US residents spot crypto and, through LedgerX, regulated derivatives
- Scale at peak
- ~$10–15bn of daily trading volume in 2021–22 (reported, verify); ~$1.02bn revenue in 2021 (reported, from investor materials; verify); customer assets on the platform reported at ~$15bn+ before the run (verify)
- Capital raised
- ~$1.8–2bn across 2019–22 rounds; Series B $900m at $18bn (July 2021); B-1 $420m at $25bn (October 2021); Series C $400m at $32bn (January 2022); FTX US $400m at $8bn (January 2022) (reported)
- Failure
- Customer shortfall ~$8bn at bankruptcy (trial evidence); Chapter 11 filed November 11, 2022, D. Del. (case 22-11068)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding Alameda (2017); launching FTX and the FTT token (2019); building FTX US and buying LedgerX (2020–21); megarounds and brand marketing (2021–22); the summer 2022 "rescuer" deals for BlockFi and Voyager; the November 2022 collapse and Chapter 11; the 2023 trial and 2024 sentencing; plan confirmation and creditor distributions (2024–26)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2017
Alameda Research Founding
Founding
2019
FTX Launch and FTT Token
Launch (exchange and exchange token)
2021
FTX US and LedgerX Acquisition
Launch (US exchange) and acquisition (LedgerX)
2021
Venture Megarounds and Brand Marketing
Funding rounds; brand and political marketing
2022
Collapse and Chapter 11
Failure; bankruptcy (Chapter 11)
2022
Crypto Rescuer Deals BlockFi and Voyager
Acquisition attempts; credit facilities (failure)
2023
SBF Trial and Sentencing
Prosecution (criminal trial and sentencing of the founder and executives)
2024
Plan Confirmation and Creditor Distributions
Bankruptcy (Chapter 11 plan and distributions)