SBF TRIAL: Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's Trial Defense Episode 3

If SBF is found guilty, what should become of Binance’s CZ?

FTX’s collapse was in some ways triggered by Sam Bankman-Fried’s biggest rival.

Just days after CoinDesk published a report highlighting FTX’s shaky financials, Binance CEO  Changpeng Zhao (CZ) tweeted that he would be selling his $2.1 billion stake in FTX and dumping his treasure trove of FTX’s proprietary tokens. CZ may have been waiting years for the perfect moment to make his move.

But as we’ve covered in Episodes 1 & 2, SBF isn’t charged with FTX’s collapse – he’s charged with actions he took leading up to FTX’s collapse. So, as the Department of Justice takes a second look at CZ’s own actions in running his exchange, what should we make of similar allegations? Commingling of funds, encrypted communication, manipulated trading volume, too much centralized power, shadow companies and worse. 

The government has been reluctant to charge CZ criminally, out of fear that doing so could spark a bank run on Binance similar to the one that took down FTX. 

But the question is: If SBF goes to jail is CZ next?

You can read and watch Coinage’s full reporting on SBF’s legal defense at Coinage.Media. Watch our full trial coverage at https://www.coinage.media/sbf-trial

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Credits: Wondercraft AI Voice, Coinage and CoinDesk.

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