Sam Bankman-Fried takes witness stand, without jury present: report

Sam Bankman-Fried took to the witness stand on Thursday, but only after Judge Lewis Kaplan had sent the jury home for the day, according to Inner City Press. The move suggests he’ll have to rule on what parts of the testimony will end up being admissible.

Bankman-Fried answered initial questions about communication, saying he’d used platforms including Slack and Signal, according to Inner City Press. He said there had been “security concerns” at the company’s Hong Kong headquarters, and acknowledged third parties had been hacked, although he said there was never a core breach.

It’s the first time the court has been able to hear his version of events, as he’s not been able to do much so far other than to take notes on a laptop as government prosecutors presented their side of the story.

The decision to put Bankman-Fried on the stand could be risky, but it’s also been seen as a possible Hail Mary move after prosecutors have spent weeks in court advancing their narrative. The defense seems set to mount a very short case, however, leading many to speculate as to just what their strategy might be. One ex-assistant U.S. attorney said they might be aiming for a stalemate via a hung jury rather than betting on a verdict of not guilty.

SBF faces decades in prison if convicted

Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison if he is convicted on a slew of charges, including fraud, over allegations that he and other FTX executives used billions of customer assets to make their own failed investments. The crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy protection late last year.

His testimony had been expected to last at least the rest of the day, with cross examination by the prosecution expected tomorrow, although that could now change depending on when the jury is brought back.