Judge Instructs FTX Co-founder Gary Wang To Speak More Slowly

Judge Lewis Kaplan reportedly instructed FTX co-founder Gary Wang to speak more slowly while he testified against former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).

“Mr. Wang, could you slow down?” Judge Kaplan stated following Wang’s allegations.

Gary Wang Responded with Rapid Speech

On X (formerly Twitter), Inner City Press shares the transcribed court case dialogue for SBF in a series of posts. On October 5, FTX co-founder Gary Wang took to the stand in the courtroom to testify against SBF.

SBF is contesting multiple fraud charges related to the November 2022 multi-billion dollar collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, asserting his innocence.

The response from Wang to questions about the wire fraud charges and the nature of the activity was delivered with a rapid pace of speech.

This was particularly evident when he declared that there were no restrictions on the amount of money available to FTX’s investment company, Alameda Research:

“We allowed Alameda to withdraw unlimited funds.”

Wang added in court that SBF deliberately named it Alameda Research, specifically choosing “Research” for its professional connotations. This information was revealed in the audio recording that was played:

[Plays it: SBF saying, “Don’t name it ‘Shit Coin Daytraders Inc.’ No one doesn’t like research.]

He further disclosed that the reason for choosing a professional name instead of a name related to crypto trading was that SBF believed it would help the process of obtaining a bank account.

Wang Clarifies How Alameda Gained Backdoor Access to FTX

Judge Kaplan asked about the location of these privileges. Additionally, how they managed to occur within the supposed safeguards at FTX. Wang simply stated that it was “in the code.”

In early November 2022, FTX’s native token, FTT, traded at $26.10. However, following its collapse, it experienced a continuous decline, reaching only $1.57.

At the time of publication, FTT’s price is $1.22.

Meanwhile, he was questioned about his responsibilities at FTX in contrast to SBF. It appeared that he had a single focus, while SBF had multiple roles to manage.

Wang alleged that he “just coded,” whereas SBF was in charge of “speaking to the media, lobbying, talking with investors.”

On the other hand, Judge Kaplan asked about Wang’s compensation package, and he disclosed that it amounted to $200,000.

However, Wang also reportedly possessed a 17% equity stake in the company. Judge Kaplan recognized that this had previously conferred “billionaire” status upon him.