According to a report by the New York Times on Jan. 18, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former head of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, allegedly utilized his position of power in the industry to artificially boost the value of certain coins in collaboration with Alameda Research, which is affiliated with FTX. Bankman-Fried is said to have utilized his position to encourage developers behind certain projects to list their trading on the exchange's platform as a means to increase profitability for FTX and related companies. Additionally, it was reported that Alameda Research would then purchase a portion of these newly listed coins in order to inflate their value.

It is alleged that Bankman-Fried leveraged his fame to promote certain projects and convince the cryptocurrency community to invest in them. This led to the perception that Alameda was in a more favorable position than it actually was. The newspaper suggested that Bankman-Fried's approach was similar to a tactic known as 'pump-and-dump' in the stock market. This involves insiders artificially inflating the value of a stock to attract small investors, and then selling their own shares before the value drops, leaving the other investors with worthless stock. Illegal pump-and-dump schemes can be especially harmful when scammers use false or misleading information to entice investors to invest in micro and small-cap stocks.

Developers who were introducing a new cryptocurrency found Bankman-Fried's proposal attractive as it allowed them to use FTX's reputation to promote their tokens and attract more interest from potential investors. Some of the 'Samcoins' included Serum, Maps, Oxygen, Bonfida, and Solana.

According to an interview with the New York Times, a source revealed that Bankman-Fried would provide a select group of investors with the opportunity to purchase coins at low prices, with the warning that any future opportunities would come at a higher cost. Those interested in taking advantage of the offer reportedly signed up through an internet spreadsheet.

The downfall of FTX began on November 2nd, when a balance sheet from Alameda was leaked, showing that the company's assets were mostly made up of FTT, a token created by FTX, and other coins that had problems with liquidity. This caused concern among the crypto community, especially considering the fact that a big trading firm held a significant amount of one asset and the connection between Alameda and FTX. This ultimately resulted in a rush of people withdrawing their funds from the exchange.




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