Leaked documents from FTX shows stunning growth for the crypto exchange and expenses that shot up dramatically during the company’s short existence.
FTX spun out of Alameda Research, a quantitative trading firm, in 2019. Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, owned a majority of both FTX and Alameda (read more about Alameda and its twentysomething CEO Caroline Ellison here). FTX raised about $1.8 billion through several rounds of funding, attaining a $32 billion valuation in January. Some of the biggest names in the venture world, including Tiger Global Management, SoftBank, and Sequoia Capital, backed the company, which is headquartered in the Bahamas. Last week, FTX, Alameda Research, and about 130 affiliated companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a CoinDesk report led to a bank run. Bankman-Fried also resigned as CEO of FTX last week.
