Sam Bankman-Fried was worth tens of millions of euros, at least on paper. A “relaxed genius” who attracted celebrities from sports and politics to a conference at luxury “resorts” in the Bahamas, the Caribbean island that housed the headquarters of FTX, a cryptocurrency platform that went bankrupt on November 11. About two million investors, including the Portuguese, were caught in one of the “biggest scams in US history.”
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, founded in 2019, filed for bankruptcy in November after three years of rapid growth. The company, founded by Sam Bankman-Freed and Zixiao Wang, has been seen in front of Formula One Mercedes cars, named the NBA Miami Heat Pavilion, and sponsored a virtual sports team (eSports). The company has gained credibility by attracting high-profile investors such as the “bad guy” from the US version of the TV show “Shark Tank” David O’Leary, already heard by the US Senate Commission of Inquiry, invested in companies experiencing difficulties with the “crypto winter” and supported social initiatives.
