Just Another Day in the Crypto World: No Agreement on an Independent Examiner for FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s Political Donations To Go Poof, and Binance Halts USD Transfers

Rohail Saleem
FTX Sam Bankman-Fried Sullivan & Cromwell

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

It seems that the affairs at FTX will not be subjected to the scrutiny by an independent examiner for now as parties continue to try to reach an agreement on this issue.

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The presiding judge in FTX's bankrutcy case has decided not to deliver a ruling today as parties continue their efforts to try to reach an understanding.

As a refresher, the bankruptcy court conducted a hearing today on the matter of appointing an independent examiner. Some considered this appointment a necessity in light of the myriad conflicts of interest that kept surfacing in relation to Sullivan & Cromwell, the law firm that is currently representing FTX and hopes to maintain its representation going forward.

Bear in mind that Sullivan & Cromwell has already advised FTX on a variety of thorny issues, including its acquisition of LedgerX, as well as navigating the fallout from the collapse of crypto lender Voyager and stablecoin provider Terra back in 2022.

In what appears to be extremely unpalatable for investors affected by FTX’s collapse, Sullivan & Cromwell has been personally endorsed by FTX’s disgraced former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, who has gone on record to state:

“When I would visit NYC, I would sometimes work out of S&C’s office.”

Moreover, some emails by the lead Sullivan & Cromwell counsel on the FTX case were recently cited by the Voyager Creditors Committee.

The emails appeared to glorify FTX as “rock solid” and termed the flags raised by Binance on its solvency as “nonsense.” This has, predictably, raised a crisis of confidence in the firm’s ability. Nonetheless, the defunct crypto exchange's current CEO, John Ray, has remained steadfast in his support of S&C, arguing that a proverbial change of guard at this stage would irreparably harm the ongoing efforts to recover the lost funds.

Do note that 18 US states joined the motion to appoint an independent examiner for FTX.

https://twitter.com/AFTXcreditor/status/1622653625695707161

Interestingly, the FTX creditors’ committee counsel mentioned during the hearing that deliberations on the launch of FTX “2.0” are ongoing.

https://twitter.com/AFTXcreditor/status/1622280862959034370

Meanwhile, FTX has given US lawmakers until the 28th of February 2023 to return the political donations made by Sam Bankman-Fried.

UnusualWhales has already compiled an exhaustive list of the US lawmakers who received funding from the disgraced former CEO of FTX.

Lastly, Binance has halted bank transfers denominated in USD for a couple of weeks as it seeks to find a new banking partner.

Rohail Saleem Photo

About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.

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