Sam Bankman-Fried had a draft Tweet thread in September 2022, outlining his plan to announce the closure of Alameda Research, which is now part of the ongoing fraud trial. This draft was written just two months before FTX faced a crisis, prompting Bankman-Fried to consider the fate of the trading firm he co-founded.
“We Came. We Saw. We Researched,” the document stated.
According to Gary Wang, his co-founder at FTX, Bankman-Fried was anxious about an upcoming article that would reveal the close connections between FTX and Alameda Research.
In the draft thread, Bankman-Fried referred to Alameda Research as a venture that had seen significant highs and lows, ultimately rebounding as a success. He praised Alameda for its role in stabilizing the financial ecosystem and acting as a buyer during volatile market conditions when others were hesitant, particularly in times of wild price swings and a scarcity of capital.
Bankman-Fried also praised Alameda’s activity following his departure and added, “Becoming a large global source of liquidity, guidance, and backstopping for the entire ecosystem. And, you know, doing a good trade now and then.”
In the discussion, Bankman-Fried criticizes his competitors, arguing that the notion of Alameda and FTX having too close a relationship is mainly a rumor propagated by FTX’s rivals, aiming to divert attention from their own issues. However, he believes that the negative publicity isn’t worth the trouble.
Bankman-Fried also indirectly attacks his critics. He finds it particularly irritating because some of his competitors are known to have internal trading desks that use confidential customer information to manipulate their own markets, despite this being an open secret.
Bankman-Fried ultimately decided not to dissolve Alameda Research because it owed $14 billion to FTX, as confirmed by Wang’s testimony. When Wang informed Bankman-Fried that Alameda’s debt made it impractical to shut it down, Bankman-Fried simply acknowledged this fact.
If Bankman-Fried had chosen to close down Alameda, his Twitter thread might have ended like this, as seen in the draft: “Alameda Research has ceased to exist. FTX lives on.”
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