What can we expect from Sam Bankman-Fried's trial?

LAST SEPTEMBER, SAM BANKMAN-FRIED WAS DESCRIBED on CNBC as the "Michael Jordan of crypto." Just over a year later, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX is on trial in a federal court in Manhattan in one of the most anticipated criminal proceedings of the year.

- ANDREW R. CHOW

FTX was a crypto exchange that allowed its users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies, and use financial mechanisms to bet on those tokens' price movements. It collapsed in November 2022 following a rush of withdrawals, with the exchange unable to account for billions of dollars in customer funds. Upon filing for bankruptcy, FTX owed its top 50 creditors alone $3.1 billion. Federal prosecutors charged Bankman-Fried with fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and several other counts.