Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency change FTX might have misplaced a minimum of $8 billion in buyer cash, however he “didn’t intend to defraud anyone,” his protection workforce mentioned Wednesday through the opening arguments of his highly anticipated trial. Though authorized consultants had lengthy speculated that Bankman-Fried, or SBF for brief, would take a “blame the lawyers” strategy, the protection painted an image of a enterprise chief performing “in good faith” however introduced down by inexperience and the inherent volatility of crypto.

In October of final yr, Bankman-Fried, the MIT-educated son of two Stanford Law School professors, was one of many highest-profile CEOs on the planet. After founding FTX simply 4 years in the past, he constructed it into one of many world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, amassing billions and changing into an influence participant within the worlds of movie star and politics. In November, a series of investigations alleged that FTX had been funneling buyer cash to its sister firm, crypto hedge fund Alameda Research, after which utilizing that cash to make trades and for private functions, akin to a $30 million penthouse within the Bahamas, political donations, and adverts with celebrities together with soccer star Tom Brady.

In court docket Wednesday, the prosecution claimed that this was an act of deliberate fraud, however Bankman-Fried’s workforce tried to color the case as being about “the world of crypto world between 2017 to 2022.” Such losses, they insinuated, have been merely the price of buying and selling with the dangerous and unregulated digital forex. Additionally, argued Bankman-Fried’s legal professional Mark Cohen, the entire selections have been cheap, and weren’t proof of profligate spending or malicious intent.

Did clients who wished to make use of FTX should wire cash to a checking account (referred to as the “fiat account”) managed by sister firm Alameda Research? Yes, however this was essential within the early days as a result of FTX didn’t have its personal checking account. Was it written into the code that Alameda might borrow an nearly limitless sum of money from FTX? Far from being a secret, the protection claimed, this little bit of code was open and clear and “any senior developer at FTX” might see it.

Was SBF concerned in Alameda even after appointing new CEOs? Sure, however he additionally owned many of the firm, so after all he’d have an interest. The thousands and thousands spent on the penthouse within the Bahamas and the promoting? That was to draw high expertise and increase the corporate, as any good businessperson would do.

Ultimately, Cohen mentioned, “it’s not a crime to be the CEO of a company that needs to fold for bankruptcy.” Meanwhile, SBF himself sat stoically all the day in court docket, reacting neither to his protection workforce nor when the prosecuting lawyer pointed at him as the person who had defrauded hundreds of consumers. The trial continues.