UNCHAINED: FTX's Ryan Salame Is Going to Prison. Here’s What He Has to Say

Oct 11, 2024

Ryan Salame, former CEO of FTX Digital Markets, shares his unfiltered thoughts as he prepares for prison. He reveals the decisions leading to FTX's downfall, including his withdrawals right before bankruptcy and the shocking Thai prostitution scheme aimed at recovering Alameda's funds. Salame disputes allegations of wrongdoing, claiming prosecutors misled his legal team, and asserts that Caroline Ellison shares culpability alongside Sam Bankman-Fried. With insights into campaign finance violations and reflections on his crypto journey, his perspective is both enlightening and controversial.

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

Reflections on Relationships and Consequences in Crypto

02:14 • 4min

From Accounting to Crypto: A Journey of Transformation

06:13 • 27min

Navigating Banking Challenges in Cryptocurrency

33:11 • 4min

Unraveling FTX: Bribery and Financial Collapse

37:10 • 15min

Legal Battles and Political Finances

51:53 • 33min

Navigating Legal and Political Turbulence Post-Trial

01:24:28 • 6min

Reflections on FTX and the Need for Modernization

01:30:03 • 4min

Crypto Roundup: Key Events and Controversies

01:33:41 • 13min

As former FTX executive Ryan Salame heads to prison, he blames Alameda’s lawyers, says prosecutors misled his attorneys, and explains why he thinks Caroline Ellison is at least as guilty as Sam Bankman-Fried.

Ryan Salame, the former CEO of FTX Digital Markets, is headed to prison, but not before sharing his side of the story. Ryan talks candidly about the decisions he made at FTX, why he withdrew millions of dollars worth of assets in the days leading up to its bankruptcy, and the backstory behind the Thai prostitute trading scheme to unfreeze Alameda’s funds in China. He also disputes the claims about his campaign finance violations, while explaining why he thinks Caroline Ellison is “at least as guilty as SBF” and that Nishad Singh lied.

Show highlights:

Ryan’s life pre-FTX and how he got into crypto
His three attempts to quit working at FTX
How Ryan committed campaign finance violations
Why Ryan disputes claims that FTX misled banks and misused customer funds
How Ryan was involved in setting up trading accounts with the identities of Thai prostitutes to unfreeze Alameda’s funds
Whether Ryan was involved in bribing a Chinese official
Why he withdrew millions of dollars worth of assets from his FTX accounts right before its bankruptcy
Why Ryan claims he was cooperative with prosecutors, despite common belief
How he refuses to comment on his wife Michelle Bond's case, but denies wrongdoing
Why Ryan pleaded the Fifth Amendment
His allegations that prosecutors lied to his lawyers about whether they would pursue charges against Michelle
Why he thinks that SBF could have never coerced Caroline Ellison and whether Ellison is “equally guilty” as SBF
Why Ryan believes Nishad Singh lied to save himself and his take on Gary Wang
How, if he didn’t know about the fraud, he could be so certain that Caroline or Nishad lied
Whether the legal advice from FTX’s and Alameda’s lawyers should have been considered in Bankman-Fried's trial
Whether testimony from more employees could have created reasonable doubt in SBF's trial
Why Ryan is going to law school
His plans post-prison
What Ryan learned from the FTX debacle

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guest:

Ryan Salame, former CEO of FTX Digital Markets

Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.