Timeline of FTX

This page is about a topic potentially related to FTX, Alameda Research, Sam Bankman-Fried, or the FTX Future Fund. Other content on this wiki has been compensated by the Future Fund Regranting Program that used funds from the FTX Future Fund. These funds likely came from the FTX Foundation that was funded partly or wholly by money made by FTX, Alameda Research, or Sam Bankman-Fried. As such, there is a theoretical possibility of conflict of interest.
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This is a timeline of FTX, a bankrupt company that formerly operated a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund.

Sample questions

The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:

• What events and developments characterize the journey of the FTX team and its key individuals?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Team".
  • You will see a list of events describing the journey of the FTX team and key individuals. Information includes team appointments, leadership changes, partnerships, financial contributions, and philanthropic initiatives.
• What companies have been launched in relation to FTX?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Company launch".
  • You will see a summary offering a chronological overview of the launch events associated with FTX and its related entities.
• What are the key management-related events and relocations involving FTX and its subsidiaries?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Management".
  • You will find a timeline of management-related events for FTX, including relocations and changes in headquarters.
• What notable events are associated with FTX's product offerings, tokens, and trading activities?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Product".
  • You will see events related to FTX's product launches, tokens, and trading activities. This includes launch and performance of the FTT token, the introduction of various products such as tokenized equities and futures, and announcements related to specific tokens like UBXT, and FTX's involvement in the NFT space.
• What are the key acquisitions made by FTX?
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  • You will see details such as the entities involved and developments associated with each acquisition.
• How did FTX secure funding throughout its development, and what were the key details of each funding round?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Funding".
  • You will see a chronological list of funding events related to FTX, including details such as the date of each funding round, the amount raised, the valuation reached, and notable investors involved.
• What partnership initiatives did FTX engage throughout its history?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Partnership".
  • You will see FTX's strategic partnerships and collaborations with various entities, including those in the crypto trading and other industries.
• How did FTX perform in terms of trading volume, financial success, and user base?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Growth".
  • You will see a list of events detailing FTX's performance in those metrics.
• What are some notable legal events and procedures associated with FTX?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Legal".
  • You will see a list of events highlighting legal challenges and regulatory actions involving FTX, including dismissed lawsuits, cease-and-desist orders, state investigations, and charges against key individuals associated with the company.
• Other events are described under the following types: "Background", "Bussiness shutdown", "Charity", "Controversy", "Criticism", "External acquisition", "Financial", "Financial assistance", "Investment", "Marketing", and "Notable comment".

Big picture

Time period	Development summary	More details
2019 – 2021	Launch and rapid ascent	In its initial phase, FTX, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, experiences a rapid ascent, securing significant funding and notable partnerships, such as a sponsorship deal with the Mercedes Formula 1 team. This culminates in a dominant position within the cryptocurrency exchange landscape.
2022	Expansion and erosion of trust	This period witnesses FTX's expansion and increasing controversies. Notable events include multiple funding rounds, high-profile partnerships like the naming rights for the Miami Heat's arena, and emerging concerns regarding Alameda Research's dependency on FTX's native token.
Late 2022 onwards	Collapse and aftermath	A leaked balance sheet on November 2 triggers a crisis of confidence, leading to FTX's suspension of operations, bankruptcy filing, and investigations into potential financial misconduct. Legal proceedings ensue. Reports of customer funds disappearance, regulatory probes, and a severe liquidity crisis unfold. By January 2023, $5 billion in assets are recovered in cash and liquid assets, with total assets missing being estimated at $8 billion.
2023	FTX trial	Sam Bankman-Fried faces a trial in October and is convicted in November on criminal charges after being extradited from The Bahamas to the U.S. Previously, one charge is dropped in July. Another trial is scheduled for March 2024, involving charges filed post-extradition.

Key statistics

The table below shows rounded out figures illustrating the evolution of FTX throughout the years.

Year	Annual revenue (USD)	Net income (USD)	Users	Peak trading volume (USD)	Annual crypto exchange volume (USD)
2019	7,200,000		100,000		27,000,000,000
2020	85,000,000	17,000,000	1,000,000	7,000,000,000	385,000,000,000
2021	1,021,000,000	388,000,000	1,200,000	21,000,000,000	719,000,000,000

Investors

The table below shows FTX's investors, according to private market data provider PitchBook.

Year	Investors
2019	Tiger Global Management, Insight Partners, SoftBank Investment Advisors, Temasek, Telstra Ventures, Teachers Venture Growth, Steadview Capital Management, Redline DAO, Paradigm, New Enterprise Associates, Lightspeed Ventures, 500 Global, Binance Labs, Consensus Lab, FBG Capital, Galois Capital, Greylock Capital Management, Lemniscap, Race Capital, IVP, HOF Capital.
2020	Bitscale Capital, BR Capital, Evangelion Capital, Exnetwork Capital, Genblock Capital, Insignius Capital, Pantera Capital.
2021	BlackRock, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Samsung NEXT Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Base10 Partners, Astronaut Capital, AGE Crypto, Vetamer Capital, Senator Investment Group, Sea Capital, Paradigm, Meritech Capital Partners, ICONIQ Growth, Third Point Ventures, Thoma Bravo, Kevin O'Leary, Willoughby Capital, Digital Currency Group, Third Point, Tribe Capital, Bond Capital, Standard Investments, Circle , Ribbit Capital, Multicoin Capital, Mayfield, 6ixth Event, Abstract Ventures, Alan Howard, Altimeter Capital Management, Bond, Schoeneck & King, DHVC, Israel Englander, Mark VC.
2022	Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, K5 Global, MiH Ventures, Mint Ventures, NKB Ventures, Signum Capital, Alchemy Ventures, Lux Capital, Fenrir, Claritas Capital, Hard Yaka, Early Capital Group, Chapter One Ventures, One Block Capital, Chainfund Capital, A'Z Angels, Allied Investors Group, ArkStream Capital.

Full timeline

Inclusion criteria

We include:

• Events spanning from preludial times, towards complications leading to the FTX crisis in late 2022.
• Events describing FTX related entities mostly Alameda Research.

We do not include:

• Details on FTX collapse. Visit Timeline of FTX collapse
• Details on Sam Bankman-Fried's trial. Visit Timeline of FTX trial

Timeline

Year	Month and date (approximately)	Entity	Event type	Details
1992	March 6	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (SBF) is born in Stanford, California, to Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, both law professors from Stanford University. SBF would be raised in the midst of a strong philosophy of utilitarianism.
2010		Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	SBF pursues physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sharing a room with Gary Wang. Nine years later, Wang would become the co-founder of FTX.
2014		Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	SBF graduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in physics and a minor in mathematics.
2014	June	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	SBF initiates a three-year tenure as a trader at the quantitative trading firm Jane Street. During this period, he encounters individuals who later would ascend to senior roles at FTX and play pivotal roles in its eventual downfall. Notably, among them is Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried's on-and-off girlfriend at the time, who later becomes the CEO of Alameda Research.
2015		Gary Wang	Team	Gary Wang graduates with a Bachelor's degree in math and computer science.
2016		Caroline Ellison	Team	Caroline Ellison graduates from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
2017	June	Nishad Singh	Team	Nishad Singh graduates from University of California, Berkeley.
2017	September	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	SBF quits Jane Street Capital and moves to Berkeley, California.
2017	November	Alameda Research	Team	SBF, along with co-founder Tara Mac Auley, establishes the cryptocurrency trading company Alameda Research in Berkeley, California.
2018	January	Alameda Research	Team	SBF organizes an arbitrage operation, moving up to $25 million a day, to take advantage of the higher price of bitcoin in Japan compared to the price in the United States. This arbitrage opportunity allows Alameda Research to win $20 million in a single day.
2019	April	Dotcom Silo	Company launch	Dotcom Silo is founded in Hong Kong by SBF, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh.
2019	April	Alameda Research	Team	Tara Mac Auley and the entire management team steps down from Alameda Research, attributing their decision to "100 small things" perceived as missteps by SBF, as mentioned in Michael Lewis' book "Going Infinite — The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon." Following their departure, Mac Auley and other team members establish Lantern Ventures, a trading firm managing approximately $400 million in assets.
2019	May 8	FTX	Company launch	SBF and Gary Wang set up FTX Trading Ltd. The company is incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda. It is founded by SBF as a centralized crypto exchange that specializes in derivatives and leveraged products. FTX is an abbreviation of "Futures Exchange". This exchange that initially worked within the structure of Alameda Research.
2019	May 8	FTX	Product	FTT, the native token of FTX, is launched. Initially trading at around $1.20, its value would quadruple by the end of 2020. At launch, FTT has a total supply of 350 million tokens, with 175 million reserved for FTX's treasury, gradually unlocking over three years. Similar to BNB, FTT would operate on a deflationary model, reducing its supply over time, potentially driving demand for the remaining tokens. FTX would employ a token burning mechanism where it purchases FTT from the market and burns a portion weekly. The burning would include tokens equivalent to one-third of all fees generated on FTX’s markets, 10% of gains from its backstop liquidity fund, and 5% of fees from other areas on the FTX platform.
2019	August 6	FTX	Funding	FTX raises $8m in its seed funding round, attracting major investors including Proof-of-Capital, Consensus Lab, FBG and Galois Capital. By this time, FTX’s trading volume reaches $1 billion per day.
2019	October	FTX	Product	FTX launches an index of eight popular China-related cryptocurrencies, as well as futures contracts based on the index. The Dragon Perpetual Futures Index (DRGN-PERP) tracks a basket of coins including BTM, IOST, NEO, NULS, ONT, QTUM, TRX, and VET, based on a weighted average of their respective prices. FTX offers traders exposure to the coins through perpetual futures contracts, which can be leveraged up to 101 times. By this time FTX, which is based in Antigua and Barbuda, has a history of offering unconventional indices, including the Shitcoin Perpetual Futures Index in August. The launch of DRGN-PERP follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent call for the adoption of blockchain technology across a range of sectors, which caused a surge in interest in Chinese blockchain and tech stocks.
2019	November	FTX	Funding	Series A. funding round. As part of a strategic partnership, Binance invests an undisclosed amount of money in FTX. SBF states that “the investment will help accelerate the growth of FTX with support and strategic advisory from Binance while FTX maintains its independent operations.”
2019	December 17	FTX	External acquisition	Binance CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao acquires a 20% stake in FTX by employing a mix of equity and long positions involving the exchange's FTT token.
2019	December	FTX	Legal	A United States district court in California dismisses a lawsuit brought against FTX for market manipulation and the sale of unlicensed securities. The lawsuit, filed by entity Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC, sought $150 million in damages from FTX. The complaint also alleged that FTX ran an unlicensed money transmitting business with its OTC desk and accused the exchange of attempting to attack Binance. The court finds that the plaintiff failed to meet the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and dismisses the case with prejudice.
2020	January	FTX US	Company launch	West Realm Shires Inc. (also known as FTX US) is founded by SBF, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, as a crypto asset trading platform designed primarily for customers in the United States.
2020	January	FTX	Product	FTX introduces derivative tokens enabling users to speculate on the outcome of the US election. Assets like TRUMP and XRPBEAR contracts contribute to FTX's rise in rankings, positioning it just below BitMEX.
2020	February	FTX	Product	FTX launches a futures contract, called TRUMP-2020 (TRUMP), which allows users to monetize their predictions of the outcome of the 2020 United States presidential election. The TRUMP futures contract would expire at $1 if Donald Trump is re-elected, and at $0 if he is not. The contract would be settled based on projections from major media outlets if a candidate is deemed the winner before all states have released their official vote counts. At this time, trading on FTX is not available in the United States and the TRUMP futures contract cannot be traded by residents of the US, EU, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other prohibited jurisdictions.
2020	February	FTX	Growth	FTX becomes the fifth largest exchange by volume, according to data from Alameda Research. The exchange is just below BitMEX, with $1.1 billion in reported and adjusted trading volume. Huobi Global ranks first, with $6.9 billion in adjusted volume, while OKEx, Binance, and BitMEX have $6.5, $4.2, and $3.7 billion in volume, respectively. FTX attributes its success to its screening methodology, which it claims filters out fake volume from other exchanges to provide a more accurate depiction of true trading volume.
2020	March 2	FTX	Controversy	An attempt to manipulate the price of FTT on Binance through a pump-and-dump scheme is found. Pump-and-dump schemes involve artificially inflating the price of a cryptocurrency through coordinated buying, then selling off the coins at a higher price once the price has been driven up. These types of schemes are not uncommon in the cryptocurrency world and can be difficult to detect and prevent.
2020	March 30	FTX	Product	Binance announces that it will delist all 25 of the FTX leveraged tokens due to a lack of understanding of how they work among many of its users. FTX leveraged tokens are ERC-20 tokens that allow traders to gain exposure to FTX's perpetual futures with up to 3x leverage. For every future on FTX, there are three leveraged tokens available: BULL for long positions, BEAR for short positions, and HEDGE for hedging against market direction. Binance will delist BULL, BEAR, ETHBULL, ETHBEAR, EOSBULL, EOSBEAR, BNBBULL, BNBBEAR, XRPBULL and XRPBEAR assets, and their trading pairs against USDT and BUSD. Binance invested "tens of millions" of dollars in FTX in December 2019.
2020	April 22	FTX	Product	FTX launches oil futures contracts following the historic drop in the price of oil in the United States. The contracts would expire at the spot West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices, plus $100 to protect against any negative settlement rate. However, FTX notes that "if the spot price of oil goes below minus $100, FTX OIL contracts can theoretically expire negative." To trade the crude oil futures on FTX, traders must clear level 1 Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, and are restricted if they are based in certain countries including the US, Canada, and the European Union.
2020	May 26	FTX	Partnership	Coinbase Custody announces that it will provide primary custodian services for FTT. Coinbase Custody is chosen after its storage solution passed FTX's review and scrutiny, and it has affirmed its commitment to serving a range of institutional clients including exchanges, brokerages, and hedge funds. At this time, FTX is one of the largest exchange clients of Coinbase Custody. The announcement comes as FTX launched its new trading platform for US users, offering liquidity, leverage, and competitive fees on six coins: BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, PAXG, and USDT.
2020	July 28	FTX	Service	FTX introduces zero-confirmation transfers via Fireblocks. The latter, a digital asset security and transfer platform, launched its Deposit Acceleration Program, which aims to provide the fastest on-chain settlement times for the crypto buy-side. The program aims to bring new institutional trading volume to exchanges and accelerate on-chain trading operations for digital asset businesses. The first exchange to join the program is FTX. The program enables Fireblocks customers to deploy assets onto the FTX exchange in real-time with zero confirmations.
2020	August 25	FTX	Acquisition	FTX acquires cryptocurrency portfolio tracking app Blockfolio, for $150 million. FTX plans to collaborate with Blockfolio on a retail trading application. Blockfolio's portfolio tracker provides users with a broad overview of the direction of the cryptocurrency market by taking price feeds of major cryptocurrencies from hundreds of exchanges. Notably, FTX finances 94% of the acquisition using its native FTT token, as reported by Bloomberg News. It is through this app that FTX would acquire most of its mobile users.
2020	September 6	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	Chef Nomi, the creator of SushiSwap, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, transfers control of the project to SBF. Nomi had faced criticism from the SushiSwap community after withdrawing $13 million from the project's liquidity pool on Uniswap. SBF tweeted his disapproval and called for Nomi to step down.
2020	September 9	FTX	Product	FTX announces it will host the initial exchange offering (IEO) for the Upbots utility token, UBXT. Upbots is a Swiss trading platform that aims to provide a one-stop dashboard for both professional and amateur traders. It connects to centralized exchanges through APIs and decentralized exchanges through a partnership with DEX.AG, and also offers charting and risk management tools. The main business model for Upbots is a marketplace for trading signals, bots, and social copy trading, with users paying a subscription fee or commission based on their earnings. UBXT tokens can be used to subscribe to online learning courses and for parts of the platform, and can also be staked for discounts on subscription fees.
2020	October 28	FTX	Partnership	FTX partners with crypto trading platform Hxro to launch TixWix, a trading product that allows users to play live odds on the crypto market. TixWix simplifies the process of trading crypto options by allowing traders to take positions based on live market odds. For example, if the market prices in a 33% chance that Bitcoin will finish the year above a certain price, a trader can take a position that will pay out 3x if correct. TixWix combines Hxro's front-end user experience with FTX's liquidity and backend technology, and is planned to be available in Asia-Pacific, EMEA, Oceania, and LatAm regions.
2020	October 28	FTX	Team	The Wall Street Journal discloses that SBF is identified as the second-largest contributor to President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, having made contributions totaling $5.2 million.
2020	October 29	FTX	Product	FTX launches tokenized equity trading on its platform through partnerships with German financial firm CM Equity AG and Swiss-based Digital Assets AG. This allows FTX users to trade and redeem equities that trade on the US stock market, including Facebook, Netflix, Tesla, Amazon, and the SPDR S&P 500 exchange-traded fund. The tokenized equity trading is open 24/7, unlike traditional equities markets, and allows users to trade fractions of the tokenized equities they purchase, similar to the trading app Robinhood. However, FTX's tokenized equity trading is not available in the United States and other restricted regions. The launch is significant for the blockchain and digital currency industry as it represents a step towards the digitization of traditional assets and securities on the blockchain.
2020	November 3	Alameda Research	Investment	Alameda Research invests $3 million in 3Commas, a trading platform for retail investors. 3Commas was launched in 2017 in Estonia. By this time, the platform has 100,000 active traders and offers a range of pre-determined trading strategies through its bots, which allow users to leave their assets on autopilot and receive notifications when trades are completed.
2020	November 5	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	SBF donates $5.2 million to Joe Biden's presidential campaign. This contribution is part of a larger group of donations totaling $79.5 million from the top 100 CEO donors to Biden's campaign. Michael Bloomberg, co-founder of the financial and media company bearing his name, is the largest CEO contributor to the campaign, with a donation of $56 million.
2020	November 16	FTX	Product	UpBots, a platform for traders, launches a staking program for its native token, UBXT. The program is exclusively provided by FTX and allows users to stake their UBXT tokens for a minimum of 10,000 tokens and a maximum of 1 million tokens. While their tokens are staked, users would receive an annual percentage return of 25% and have access to three trading algorithm bots, as well as other features included in UpBots' MVP. Token-based rewards are distributed on an hourly basis, with half of the annual percentage return being unlocked and the other half added to the locked amount. UpBots aims to become an all-in-one trading ecosystem, providing automated trading bots, customizable algorithms, a cross-platform cryptocurrency wallet, and support for CEX and DEX exchanges. It also allows users to develop their own algorithms and trading bots, which can be rented out to other traders.
2020	December 14	FTX	Background	The Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act (‘DARE’ or the ‘Act’) comes into effect in The Bahamas. The legislation creates a legal definition for digital assets and a regulatory framework for digital asset businesses and digital asset activities permitted in the country.
2020	Year round	FTX	Growth	According to financial statements, FTX manages to generate an operating profit of $14.4 million on revenue of $89.9 million in the year, its first full year in business.
2021	January 20	Alameda Research	Investment	Cape Town-based cryptocurrency exchange Ovex receives investment from Alameda Research. Founded in 2019, Ovex specializes in over-the-counter trading and arbitrage, offering South Africa's largest selection of digital asset markets. The company aims to improve the efficiency of the cryptocurrency market in South Africa and increase financial inclusivity. It has a monthly trading volume of $270m and a valuation of over ZAR1bn ($68m).
2021	January 28	FTX	Partnership	FTX partners with blockchain company Circle, with the purpose to allow its users to make near-instant Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments in the United States using USDC stablecoins, which are pegged to the US dollar and issued by Circle. The payments would be available on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Circle and FTX also collaborate with financial data transfer network Plaid to enable quick customer bank account verification. This partnership allows cryptocurrency users to access traditional banking more easily and enables FTX customers to make a bank transfer and convert it into USDC for trading or other purposes without waiting for standard ACH transactions.
2021	January 29	FTX	Product	FTX creates a new index called the Wall Street Bets Index, which follows the prices of several assets including GameStop (GME), AMC Entertainment (AMC), and Dogecoin (DOGE). The index trades as a futures contract with expiration on March 26, 2021 and is "cash settled vs the index of tokenized share markets on FTX." The index is made up of seven assets, each with a weight of 16.5% except for FTT, which has a weight of 1%. Its creation follows the recent rise in the price of these assets, which has been attributed to the Reddit group r/Wallstreetbets and their efforts to pump the prices of certain stocks.
2021	February 1	FTX	Product	In response to the Reddit-led interest in silver following the GameStop short squeeze, FTX swiftly lists tokenized silver stocks and futures on its platform. The new trend, known as the "silversqueeze," is driven by retail investors congregating on the subreddit r/wallstreetsilver. FTX's quick move follows its recent listing of GameStop stocks, showcasing the platform's agility in responding to market dynamics influenced by online communities. The surge in demand for precious metals has led to shortages at major silver dealers.
2021	February 24	Alameda Research	Investment	Alameda Research leads a $40 million investment round in Oxygen, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built on the Solana blockchain. Oxygen aims to make DeFi more accessible and user-friendly, similar to how Robinhood has made stocks more accessible to the general public.
2021	March 4	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	The Hurun Research Institute in China publishes a list of the top three "blockchain billionaires," with Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, in the top spot. SBF is newly added to the list and is in second place with a reported wealth of around $10 billion. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, is in third place on the list.
2021	March 26	FTX	Marketing/acquisition	FTX secures the naming rights for the American Airlines Arena in Miami for $135 million. Known as the Kaseya Center at the time, the 19,000-capacity venue would be renamed FTX Arena on June 4, marking the first instance of a crypto business obtaining naming rights for a major U.S. professional sports venue. FTX and Miami-Dade County reach an agreement in principle for a 19-year partnership, subject to final approval by the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners. This development highlights the increasing mainstream integration of the cryptocurrency industry, following similar moves by companies like Crypto.com partnering with sports teams.
2021	May	FTX US	Team	Brett Harrison, a former technology executive at Citadel Securities, assumes the role of president at FTX US.
2021	June 4	FTX	Partnership	Esports organization TSM and FTX enter a $210 million, multi-year partnership deal. The agreement grants exclusive naming rights for TSM, later known as 'TSM FTX'.
2021	June 29	FTX	Team	NFL star Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen reveal their collaboration with FTX. Brady assumes the role of brand ambassador, while Bündchen becomes FTX’s Environmental & Social Initiatives Advisor. According to author Michael Lewis, Brady would receive $55 million for 20 hours of work over three years, while Bündchen would be compensated with $20 million.
2021	July	FTX	Funding	FTX raises 900 million dollars, reaching a valuation of more than $18 billion. More than 60 investors enter, including Softbank, Sequoia Capital and other companies.
2021	July	FTX Digital Markets	Company launch	FTX Digital Markets is formed in Bahamas, and is duly registered as a digital asset business under The Bahamas' Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2020 (the "DARE Act").
2021	July	FTX	Funding	FTX completes a funding round amounting to $900 million, marking the largest in the history of the cryptocurrency industry. As a result, FTX's valuation surges to $18 billion.
2021	July	FTX	Growth	FTX hits over one million users and becomes the third-largest exchange by volume. American subsidiary FTX US reaches up to $1 billion in daily volume.
2021	July	FTX	Team	SBF buys back Binance’s stake in FTX for $2.3 billion, ending their investment relationship, and seeking to provide more flexibility for FTX. This move comes amid regulatory challenges faced by Binance globally. SBF emphasizes FTX's cooperative approach with regulators, highlighting potential differences in how the two exchanges operate. Binance confirms the exit, stating they have "exited completely."
2021	August	FTX	Acquisition	FTX acquires LedgerX, positioning itself to offer derivative products in the United States.
2021	August	FTX	Marketing	SBF engages in extensive marketing, spending $210 million on the FTX logo in esports, $135 million to rename the Miami Heat's arena, and $17.5 million for naming rights to UC Berkeley's football field.
2021	August	Alameda Research	Team	At this time, SBF owns 90% of Alameda Research.
2021	September 7	FTX	Partnership	Golden State Warriors and three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry joins FTX as a global ambassador, receiving an equity stake in FTX Trading Limited. Curry also enters into an agreement where he is reportedly paid $35 million for a commitment of 20 hours per year for three years. Additionally, FTX US and its NFT marketplace become the official cryptocurrency platform for the Golden State Warriors.
2021	September 9	FTX	Growth	FTT token reaches an all-time high of $85. Subsequently, it would experience a decline and start 2022 trading at approximately $40.
2021	September	FTX	Management	FTX relocates from Hong Kong to the Bahamas following regulatory approval for its Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets.
2021	September 23	FTX	Partnership	FTX enters a long-term sponsorship deal with the Mercedes’ Formula 1 racing team Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Although the duration of the deal is undisclosed, it is expected to span multiple race seasons, prominently featuring the FTX logo on both cars and drivers. The partnership includes branding on Mercedes-Benz trucks, in the garage, and in hospitality and communications facilities. FTX aims to leverage this collaboration to reach F1's global fan base, including access to team members such as drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. The deal involves potential collaborations on FTX Pay integration, an NFT collection, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
2021	September 25	FTX	Management	FTX decides to relocate its headquarters and key operations from Hong Kong to the Bahamas. The move is a response to China's People's Bank declaring all cryptocurrency-related transactions illegal and reflects the Bahamas' proactive and supportive regulatory environment for digital currencies. FTX, the second-largest crypto derivatives exchange by 24-hour open interest, would be led by Ryan Salame as CEO of FTX Digital Markets in the new location. The People's Bank of China expresses concern about the growth of cryptocurrencies, deeming it a significant challenge for the global financial sector and traditional finance. SBF announces FTX Digital Markets Ltd registration with the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.
2021	October 12	Alameda Research	Team	Caroline Ellison and crypto quant trader Sam Trabucco are appointed co-CEOs of Alameda.
2021	October	FTX	Funding	FTX receives $420 million in Series B-1 funding, reaching a valuation of $25 billion. Investors include the OTPPB, Tiger Global, and BlackRock.
2021	October 21	FTX	Funding	FTX's valuation reaches $25 billion with investments from notable entities such as Singaporean wealth fund Temasek and Tiger Global Management.
2021	December 14	FTX	Partnership	A sponsorship deal of approximately $10 million is reported between FTX and the Golden State Warriors basketball team. This makes FTX the official cryptocurrency platform and NFT marketplace for the NBA team. The agreement covers international rights and includes Golden State NFT drops on the FTX platform starting in 2022. The Warriors had earlier released their own NFTs, becoming the first major US sports franchise to do so. As part of the partnership, FTX would promote its brand during Santa Cruz Warriors' G League matches and feature in virtual on-court inventory during the Warriors Gaming Squad’s NBA 2K League games.
2022	January 14	FTX Ventures	Company launch	FTX reveals the establishment of FTX Ventures, a $2 billion investment division aimed at diversifying into industries like gaming, fintech, and healthcare.
2022	January 26	FTX US	Funding	FTX US receives $400 million in Series A funding round, reaching a valuation of $8 billion. Investors include Multicoin, Paradigm, Sequoia, SoftBank and Temasek.
2022	January 31	FTX	Funding	FTX achieves a valuation of $32 billion after raising $400 million in a Series C funding round. This places FTX on par with Germany's Deutsche Boerse and surpasses the valuations of Nasdaq and Twitter. The funds aim to support FTX's global expansion and help secure additional licenses in various markets. SBF expresses the exchange's commitment to collaborating with regulators to ensure safe and compliant access to digital assets. The Series C funding round, backed by investors such as Paradigm, Temasek, Multicoin Capital, and SoftBank, coincide with a similar investment in FTX US, the American affiliate.
2022	February 14	FTX	Marketing	A Super Bowl commercial featuring comedian Larry David promotes FTX.
2022	February	FTX	Service	It is reported that FTX is creating a gaming division that would help developers add cryptocurrency, NFTs, and other blockchain-related assets into video games.
2022	March 10	FTX	Charity	FTX announces the launch of the FTX Foundation, a charitable organization that would partner with organizations such as Effective Altruism, GiveWell, The Humane League, and OpenAI. FTX pledges to allocate 1% of its revenue from fees to the foundation. The foundation would allow the FTX community to vote on which issues, such as the pandemic, climate change, or global poverty, it should address. Sam Bankman-Fried states that the foundation is created in order to have a more official way to make a positive impact on the world through charitable donations.
2022	March 22	FTX	Acquisition	FTX acquires Good Luck Games, the developer of the card battle game "Storybook Brawl," as part of its gaming push. The acquisition aligns with FTX's strategy to encourage game publishers to adopt cryptocurrencies through its new FTX Gaming division. Storybook Brawl features fairytale and mythical characters in a card-based auto-battler game. FTX aims to explore the intersection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), crypto, blockchain, and gaming.
2022	April	FTX	Product	The Golden State Warriors drops its second NFT collection on the FTX NFT marketplace, commemorating its 2022 NBA playoffs performance.
2022	May 10	FTX US	Management	FTX US officially opens its Chicago headquarters at 167 Green Street, a new 17-story Fulton Market office building. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is attended by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other Chicago officials.
2022	May 26	Sam Bankman-Fried	Charity/marketing	Brazilian fashion model Gisele Bündchen, Lauren Remington Platt and SBF engage in a discussion on effective altruism, emphasizing the importance of making a positive impact. They delve into their chosen causes, explore the role of crypto in creating a better future, and reveal FTX's latest fashion campaign during the conversation.
2022	May	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture conducts a hearing titled "Changing Market Roles: The FTX Proposal and Trends in New Clearinghouse Models." Witnesses, including SBF representing FTX US Derivatives, Terrence A. Duffy from CME Group, Walt Lukken from Futures Industry Association, Christopher Edmonds from Intercontinental Exchange, and Christopher Perkins from CoinFund Management LLC, provide insights into the FTX proposal and discuss evolving clearinghouse models in the market. SBF defends the company's proposal, emphasizing that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has the tools to be a model regulator for digital assets.Terrence Duffy argues against the FTX proposal, citing significant risks to market stability and participants. The hearing covers topics like risk, international standards, different clearinghouse models, regulation, agriculture's impact, and consumer protection. There is a contentious exchange between Rep. Ro Khanna and CME CEO Duffy regarding capital requirements. SBF expresses respect for the CFTC process and asserts that FTX's model ensures transparency and risk management.
2022	May	FTX	Product	As of date, FTX has burned 17 million out of the 263 million FTT tokens in circulation.
2022	June 1	Sam Bankman-Fried	Team	SBF, with a fortune valued at $21 billion, signs the Giving Pledge, committing to give away the majority of his wealth for philanthropy. SBF's wealth primarily stems from his equity stake in FTX, valued at $32 billion after a $400 million fundraising round. Advocating for effective altruism, by this time SBF has a history of significant donations, including $12 million to Carrick Flynn's political campaign. To date, the FTX Foundation, FTX's philanthropic arm, has allocated $21.8 million to charity. The Giving Pledge, initiated by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet in 2010, boasts 230 signatories worldwide, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
2022	June 6	FTX	Management	SBF tweets: Zig Zag and hiring: why FTX is going to keep growing as others cut jobs. Later that month, FTX lays off around 20 people, mostly in the Bahamas, according to people familiar with the matter, as "FTX required some to sign nondisclosure agreements."
2022	June 20	Alameda Research	Financial assistance	Cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital secures substantial loans from Alameda Research to navigate the market downturn. The line of credit includes a $200 million facility in a mix of cash and USD Coin, and a revolving credit facility for 15,000 bitcoin, totaling around $309 million. Both facilities expire on December 31, 2024, with a 5% annual interest rate. Voyager emphasizes using the loans to protect customer assets amid market volatility. The move follows industry challenges, with Bitcoin and Ether declining, and Voyager's stock down 91% in the year. SBF stresses the importance of larger companies supporting struggling cryptocurrency firms, while Voyager denies insolvency rumors.
2022	June 21	FTX US	Acquisition	FTX US acquires Embed Financial Technologies, including its subsidiary Embed Clearing, a clearing firm with memberships in FINRA, DTC, NSCC, Nasdaq, and IEX. The acquisition aims to enhance FTX US's equities and ETF trading platform, FTX Stocks, allowing it to provide whitelabel brokerage services. The deal facilitates routing, executing, clearing, and custody for customer equities and options accounts through Embed's infrastructure. The acquisition aligns with FTX's goal to expand financial services for US customers.
2022	July 1	FTX	Acquisition (failed)	FTX enters a deal with an option to acquire crypto lender BlockFi for up to $240 million. Additionally, FTX agrees to provide BlockFi with a $400 million revolving credit facility. The move comes amid challenges for BlockFi, including increased withdrawals following news of Celsius Network's freeze and concerns about a potential U.S. recession due to aggressive rate hikes. The arrangement would collapse after FTX's later downfall.
2022	July 6	Alameda Research	Financial	Voyager Digital declares bankruptcy, announcing it and its U.S. affiliates having commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In its bankruptcy presentation, Voyager shows Alameda Research owes them $377 million.
2022	July 14	Sam Bankman-Fried	Criticism	Effective Altruism Forum user Sara Azubuike posts a discussion, expressing concerns over SBF's substantial contributions to effective altruism, noting the speculative nature of the crypto market. The discussion emphasizes the potential adverse effects of a crypto crash, particularly on vulnerable populations heavily invested in it. Criticisms include the EA community's lax financial management due to significant crypto flows. According to Azubuike, post-crash repercussions might entail detrimental optics for EA or the discontinuation of various projects. Recommendations propose funding projects adaptable to financial fluctuations, suggesting reduced diversity in project funding. At this time, EA funding, especially in longtermism, increasingly relies on contributions from FTX.
2022	July 29	FTX US	Product	FTX US launches commission-free stock trading services for all U.S. clients, extending beyond existing cryptocurrency traders. The move aims to attract a broader user base and increase funds under custody. The platform now offers trading with US-listed equities, ETFs, and depository receipts, featuring 50 stocks of popular American companies like Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Paypal. FTX US announces plans to further expand its services to include options trading in the future, with the goal of attracting both existing and new users to equity trading.
2022	August 19	FTX	Legal	The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issues a cease-and-desist order to FTX for making "false and misleading representations" about deposits being covered by FDIC insurance following FTX president Brett Harrison's tweet implying otherwise. Following the regulatory action, Harrison would delete the tweet and SBF would clarify in a tweet that FTX deposits are not insured by the FDIC.
2022	August 24	Alameda Research	Team (resignation)	Alameda Research co-CEO Sam Trabucco announces his resignation on Twitter, leaving co-CEO Caroline Ellison as the sole CEO, and announces he will remain in the capacity of adviser. Trabucco tweets: I guess that's about it. My time at Alameda has been the most formative of my life. I've learned how to think, I've found out how far I can push myself, and I've been gifted the incredible experience of being in the trenches with lifelong friends -- and *winning*.
2022	September 21	FTX	Funding	FTX negotiates with potential investors to raise up to US$1 billion in new funding that would keep the company’s valuation at roughly $32 billion. Investors include Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global Management.
2022	September 26	FTX	Acquisition	FTX successfully secures the bid to acquire the assets of Voyager Digital, a crypto lender that filed for bankruptcy in July. The winning bid by FTX US is valued at approximately $1.4 billion. The announcement leads to a 3.76% increase in the value of Voyager Token (VGX). Voyager Digital faces increased scrutiny for its business practices, especially regarding the protection of investors' deposits, and its bankruptcy filing revealed challenges, including a significant portion of its loan book tied to the bankruptcy of Three Arrows. FTX outbids Wave Financial in the acquisition, as reported on September 16 by CoinDesk.
2022	September 27	FTX US	Management	FTX US relocates its headquarters from Chicago to Miami, emphasizing the importance of securing licenses for its various businesses. The move aligns with FTX's global strategy to establish offices worldwide. The shift to Miami is in line with the city's growing prominence as a hub for crypto companies, driven by favorable regulations and lower tax burdens. FTX's president, Brett Harrison, resigns citing a "protracted disagreement" with SBF and his inner circle. Harrison's concerns include the lack of proper delegation of authority, a formal management structure, and key hires, revealing internal issues contributing to the exchange's downfall.
2022	October	FTX	Legal	The Texas State Securities Board investigates FTX US for allegedly offering unregistered securities products in the U.S. through its yield-bearing service. The Director of Enforcement, Joseph Rotunda, files the allegation as part of a court filing related to the potential sale of Voyager Digital's assets to FTX. Rotunda claimes that FTX US might be violating state law by offering a yield-bearing product to U.S. customers without proper registration. FTX responds, stating that they have been in talks with the Texas State Securities Board and have an active license application pending. They claim they are operating within regulatory bounds.
2022	October 22	FTX, Alameda Research	Criticism	A Youtuber alleges that FTX manipulates and sabotages competitors, especially those in the blockchain space challenging Solana. He claims FTX pumps token prices before their launch and then dumps on retail investors, citing instances involving Axie Infinity's Ronin token and ICP. The video argues that FTX aims to eliminate competition, mentioning its association with Solana and efforts to control the crypto market. He also discusses Alameda Research and accuses it of exploiting trading strategies. The narrator suggests a battle between manipulators and crypto enthusiasts, urging viewers to choose a side.
2022	November	Alameda Research	Bankruptcy	A CoinDesk article on November 2 reveals that Alameda Research holds a significant amount of FTX's exchange token, FTT. This disclosure leads to a withdrawal spike, leaving customers unable to retrieve their deposits. On November 11, FTX, Alameda Research, and over 100 affiliated entities file for bankruptcy, prompting SBF's resignation. The FTX collapse has widespread implications on cryptocurrency markets, drawing parallels to major financial scandals and being labeled "one of the biggest financial frauds in American history" by federal prosecutors. The incident causes a ripple effect, notably contributing to Bitcoin's price hitting a two-year low. For more details, see Timeline of FTX collapse.
2022	December	FTX and all affiliated entities	Legal	On December 12, authorities arrest SBF in the Bahamas, charging him with multiple offenses, including fraud. The following day, the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York announces an eight-count indictment against Bankman-Fried. Simultaneously on December 13, the SEC files a civil complaint, accusing him of fraud and misappropriation of customer funds. By December 19, SBF agrees to be extradited to the US. On December 22, he is released on a record-setting $250 million bond. The same day, the attorney’s office unseals guilty pleas from Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, who admit to seven and four charges, respectively, agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors. See Timeline of FTX collapse and Timeline of FTX trial.
2023	January–August	Sam Bankman-Fried	Legal	In January, SBF pleads not guilty to criminal charges. In February, he faces additional criminal counts. By March, SBF pleads not guilty to the new charges. On July 20, prosecutors report attempted witness tampering by SBF, leading to a gag order on July 26, with a dropped campaign finance charge. On August 11, his bail is revoked, and on August 14, SBF is transferred from house arrest to prison. The criminal trial for his pre-extradition charges begins on October 2.
2023	October–November	Sam Bankman-Fried	Legal	The trial of SBF is conducted. On November 2 he is convicted on seven federal counts, including two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. His sentencing is set for March 2024. See Timeline of FTX trial.
2024	January 31	FTX	Bussiness shutdown	FTX announces it will not resume operations for its cryptocurrency exchange. Instead, the company plans to liquidate all its assets and refund the money to its customers.

Visual data

Google trends

The chart below shows Google Trends data for FTX (company) from its inception on May 8, 2019, to February 2024, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map. See spike of interest towards the collapse of FTX in late 2022.

The chart below shows Google Trends data for Alameda Research (topic) from its launch on November, 2017, to February 2024, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map. See spike of interest towards the collapse of FTX in late 2022 and around late 2023 when the trial to Sam Bankman-Fried was conducted.

The chart below shows Google Trends data for Sam Bankman-Fried from January 2021, to February 2024, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.

Wikipedia Views

The chart below shows Wikipedia Views data for the article FTX from its creation in September 2021, to February 2024, when the screenshot was taken.

The chart below shows Wikipedia Views data for the article Sam Bankman-Fried from its creation in April 2021, to February 2024, when the screenshot was taken.

The chart below shows Wikipedia Views data for the article Alameda Research from its creation in June 2022, to February 2024, when the screenshot was taken.

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by Sebastian Sanchez.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:

• FIXME

What the timeline is still missing

• https://es.cointelegraph.com/news/ftx-settles-dispute-sells-european-arm-33m
• https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/FTX-scam-explained-Everything-you-need-to-know

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D5PcagsgDQ
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWq77i9mIRE
3. Now-deleted Sequoia profile of FTX covers a lot of details about how it was founded
4. https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam-bankman-fried/

See also

• Timeline of FTX collapse
• Timeline of FTX trial
• Timeline of Coinbase