Image source: Crypto Rus
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has faced a series of trials in recent weeks.
On November 11, Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO following the opening of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the District of Delaware.
Rumors have since circulated that he fled following the collapse of FTX.
Rumors
Recently, Crypto Twitter has been talking about a rumor that SBF (Sam Bankman-Fried) has fled to Argentina.
He was rumored to have escaped when his cryptocurrency exchange collapsed.
However, a text message to Reuters on Saturday revealed that Bankman-Fried was still in the Bahamas.
The outlet asked if the rumors were true, but he replied: “Nope.”
Read also: FTX probed by Bahamas police in the weekend
Tracking the rumors
Over the weekend, Twitter users speculated that Sam Bankman-Fried was on the run.
SBF has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for FTX Group, which includes companies such as FTX Trading, FTX US and Alameda Research.
The rumor started when users tracked the coordinates of his private jet using ADS-B Exchange, a flight-tracking website.
The website suggested that Bankman-Fried’s Gulfstream G450 landed in Buenos Aires on early November 12 on a direct flight from Nassau, Bahamas.
Sam Bankman-Fried lives in a penthouse in Nassau with ten roommates, including Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research.
Read also: Sam Bankman-Fried takes massive financial blow
SBF
Sam Bankman-Fried was once considered the leading figure in the exponential growth of cryptocurrencies.
However, he is now at the center of the most high-profile scandal in the industry.
In less than a week, FTX fell from grace as the largest $32 billion cryptocurrency exchange to a bankrupt company with an $8 billion hole in its balance sheets.
According to Bloomberg, Bankman-Fried’s net worth fell from $16 billion to zero following the FTX crash.
Over the past few years, FTX has raised billions in venture capital from lenders such as:
- Lightspeed Venture Partners
- Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
- Circle Internet Financial
- Coinbase Ventures
- Multicoin Capital
- Paul Tudor Jones
- Sequoia Capital
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