[NEWS] FTX plans to raise funds from Google and BlackRock before bankruptcy

It has been revealed that FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed last November, was planning to raise funds from Google, BlackRock, and others.

This was revealed during the ongoing trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is accused of fraud and other charges.

According to documents on fundraising submitted by FTX's general counsel Can Sun, in a fundraising round planned for the summer to fall of 2022, 15 companies, including Google, BlackRock, and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, were considered "potential clients" and were described as being drawn into investing as soon as possible.

Among them, it seems that the major investment fund Apollo was actually asked to invest in order to solve the liquidity problem caused by FTX's customer withdrawals.

According to Sun, there was a 50/50 chance that Google and BlackRock would invest. Both had conducted due diligence on the exchange before FTX collapsed.

On the other hand, Singapore government fund Temasek and US VC Standard Crypto seem to have been classified as investors with a high probability of investing. In fact, Temasek has invested in FTX in the tens of billions of yen in the past. In addition, six companies, including a16z, reportedly declined to invest at the same time.

However, according to Sun, all of these companies were "before investing" and had not actually invested.

Regarding fundraising, Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, who was a close aide to Bankman-Fried, revealed that FTX was seeking investment from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman just before its collapse.

Currently, Bankman-Fried is charged with seven charges, including fraud. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, but if found guilty, he could face up to 100 years in prison.

The trial has already begun and is expected to last until the 9th of next month.

Source:Decrypt
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