Sam Bankman-Fried, commonly known as SBF, is facing more than 100 years of prison time for allegedly defrauding investors and millions of customers with the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. 

The exchange had a $40 billion (£33bn) bankruptcy nine months ago, which has been characterised by US prosecutors as “one of the most significant financial frauds in the annals of American history.”

Those prosecutors now have six weeks to present evidence ranging from internal documents to audio recordings, to try and prove SBF knowingly defrauded customers and business partners.

The most significant evidence will come in the form of personal opinions and recollections from former colleagues and friends of SBF such as Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang. Prosecutors have also said they will call FTX investors and customers, from the US and abroad, over the course of the trial. 

According to court filings, SBF’s defence will be that he acted on the advice of in-house and external lawyers to make decisions. Alleged actions such as setting up auto-deleting messaging platforms, loaning funds to executives, and other aspects of the relationship and financial ties between FTX and its Hong-Kong based sister company Alameda Research. 

The trial is now an opportunity to build trust in a sector which has an unscrupulous legacy. “Critics have long decried the lack of oversight and susceptibility to manipulation within cryptocurrency markets,” said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere group, a financial advisory group.

“By subjecting Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX to the same regulations that traditional financial institutions abide by, this trial sends a resounding message on commitment to equitable and transparent practices,” continued Green. 

According to him, a meticulous trial with appropriate repercussions will boost trust among investors in the asset class. “This is the biggest legal battle in crypto history,” he said. 

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• FTX Founder and Celebrity Ambassadors Being Sued Over Crash
• FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested
• FTX Recovers Over £4bn in Cash and Liquid Crypto

Although the trial beginning is on everyone’s mind in the crypto sphere, oddly, funds stolen in a heist from FTX just days before its bankruptcy in November of last year have started to move out of crypto wallets. 

The incident took roughly $600 million (£496m) worth of crypto from multiple FTX wallets last fall. Since then, no information on who took, or has, the money has been revealed.

However, some crypto watchdogs who monitor the wallets have noticed that it has started to move 20,000 ether (ETH), worth roughly £27.5m.