FTX billionaire founder Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire splits into two

It has emerged that the business empire of billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried officially comprises two giant entities, including the FTX crypto exchange and his trading firm Alameda Research.

This is after the status of Almeda Research as a significant player in its respective field (trading firm) was confirmed through the $14.6 billion assets it holds as of June 30, CoinDesk reported on November 2. 

The link between the two companies is highlighted by the nature of the Almeda Research balance sheet, which contains mainly the FTT token issued by FTX, according to a private financial document reviewed by CoinDesk. In this case, token holders earn benefits such as discounts on FTX trading fees and higher commissions on referrals alongside earning rewards. 

It is worth noting that the relationship between the two companies is unusually close. Although this structure is not improper, it highlights that Bankman-Fried’s trading business Alameda is mostly supported by a token created by a sister firm and as opposed to an independent asset such as a fiat currency or another cryptocurrency.

FTT tokens holding breakdown  

A breakdown of the assets shows that a significant share is held as $3.66 billion of unlocked FTT and a $2.16 billion pile of FTT collateral. At the same time, company documents show more FTX tokens lie in its $8 billion under liabilities. 

“It’s fascinating to see that the majority of the net equity in the Alameda business is actually FTX’s own centrally controlled and printed-out-of-thin-air token,” said Cory Klippsten, CEO of investment platform Swan Bitcoin

Additionally, the company holds $3.37 billion under “crypto held” and significant amounts of the Solana blockchain’s native token SOL at $292 million in unlocked status alongside $863 million in locked SOL alongside $41 million under SOL collateral. The large holding in Solana is likely due to Bankman-Fried’s status as an early investor in the project. 

At the same time, the company holds another $134 million of cash and a $2 billion equivalent investment in equity securities.

However, Almeda pointed out that the exact token value might be low, considering that the “locked tokens conservatively treated at 50% of fair value marked to FTX/USD order book.”

In general, Bankman-Fried has been expanding his crypto empire amid the existing bear market by leading acquisitions and investments in companies weighed down by the market crash.