The public story is compressed: a leaked balance sheet, a run, a bankruptcy, cooperating pleas, and a one-month trial.
The beats below follow CoinDesk, the Delaware petitions, and the SDNY docket.
Beats
- Exchange, token, trading firm
FTX grew as a crypto exchange with a related token (FTT) and a sibling trading firm, Alameda. Celebrity marketing and political donations made the founder a public figure.
- A balance sheet goes public
CoinDesk's 2 November 2022 article on Alameda's holdings made the concentration of FTT and related assets a market fact. Binance's response accelerated withdrawals.
- Chapter 11 and a new CEO
On 11 November 2022 FTX entities filed bankruptcy. John J. Ray III took control and told Congress the record-keeping was among the worst he had seen.
- Arrest and cooperators
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December 2022. Ellison, Wang, and Singh pleaded guilty and aligned with the government.
- Verdict and 25 years
The jury convicted on 2 November 2023. Kaplan imposed 25 years on 28 March 2024. The estate continued a separate recovery process.
The story on the public record is a completed fraud conviction plus a bankruptcy that later surprised many on recovery -- two ledgers, one verdict.
Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.