FTX Crash: Storm Looms Over Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Bahamas Conference As A-List Friends Darken – Karly

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Months before his $32 billion fall from grace, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried lured world leaders, celebrities and possibly the best quarterback in the NFL to a $3,000 cryptocurrency conference in a pet project at a private resort near his headquarters in the Islands.Bahamas.The inaugural conference was in what the organizers said they hoped to build…

imageMonths before his $32 billion fall from grace, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried lured world leaders, celebrities and possibly the best quarterback in the NFL to a $3,000 cryptocurrency conference in a pet project at a private resort near his headquarters in the Islands.Bahamas.The inaugural conference was in what the organizers said they hoped to build into “the world’s premier institutional digital asset event.” FTX and SALT, which co-hosted the forum, said 2,000 people attended from April 26-29.Bahamas Premier Philip “Brave” Davis personally greeted them from the convention center podium.

Keynote speakers included former President Clinton and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair – as well as Tom Brady.Gisele Bundchen, Orlando Bloom, and Katy Perry also featured prominently.Perry is one of only two people that Bankman-Fried follows on Instagram.

Both Brady and Bundchen have been named as co-defendants in a class action lawsuit alleging $11 billion in damages stemming from the collapse of FTX — which the company’s newly appointed CEO called “a complete failure of corporate controls.”

New FTX BOSS condemns BANKMAN-FRIED FOR ‘complete failure of corporate controls’

(LR) Lauren Remington Platt, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Gisele Bundchen at the FTX Salt Crypto Bahamas conference Wednesday, April 27, 2022.(bfa.com)

The conference began on Tuesday with a series of receptions and ended with a “VIP pool party” four days later at the exclusive Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, a two-tower five-star hotel in the heart of the Baha Mar resort complex.It opened in 2017.

The beachfront complex includes a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, casinos, a water park and a wildlife sanctuary.

“The last few years have been tough for the industry,” Bankman-Fried told the audience on the second day.“It feels different from the first crypto conference I went to, which was in 2018.”

A general view of the 405-yard par 4, hole 13 at Royal Blue, Golf Club at Baha Mar on November 29, 2018 in Nassau, Bahamas.(David Cannon/Getty Images)

A month before the conference, the resort received the royal treatment – with a visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

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The stars and influential global leaders were pictured smiling and enjoying the environment at the conference, but none had responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment by press time Friday.

Sam Bankman-Fried with Gisele Bundchen at the FTX Salt Crypto Bahamas conference Wednesday, April 27, 2022.(bfa.com)

During the convention, “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Bloom posted a hilarious Instagram photo with Bankman-Fried, with both of them pulling their long hair back.

“Like looking in a mirror,” the A-lister wrote in the caption, referring to the soon-to-be mega Democratic donor.

“sbf_ftx #cryptobahamas.”

Under the same hashtag, users can find selfies with stars on Instagram and Twitter.

Tom Brady was a keynote speaker at the Crypto Bahamas conference in April hosted by FTX and its now disgraced founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.(Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Bankman-Fried, a former US citizen who moved his cryptocurrency business to the Bahamas due to its lax regulatory environment, personally hosted keynote speakers on stage for two nights of the conference.

The first was Brady, Wednesday, for a discussion titled simply, “The Win,” in which a future Hall of Famer vowed to try and win another Super Bowl.

Bankman-Fried, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, hosted Clinton and Blair on Thursday for an “informal” discussion on “The World Today.”

However, the audio for the VIP panel was only obtained by TrustNodes, a cryptocurrency trade publication, and revealed that Clinton advocated for a “do no harm” regulatory approach.

“It sounds great, and of course they are both great names,” the outlet said, adding prophetically, “But this is a bit fake, right?”

Politico, which obtained a partial transcript, added that the former president also warned about the “temptation to misuse” emerging technologies.

Flashback: Bill Clinton chatters with fried Bankman at $3,000 in Bahamas Shindig, calls for ‘do no harm’ laws

In a matter of months, Bankman-Fried will be under investigation in several countries with this question in mind.

Guests met in the resort’s Jasmine Garden, outside the huge convention center, for breakfast each morning.

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The Palm Lawn at Baha Mar enjoys a waterfront view.It is where guests of Crypto Bahamas gathered for their “Sunrise Yoga” sessions during the April conference.(Fox News Digital)

At the same time, they were offered sunrise yoga on the Palm Lawn waterfront, where visitors could get a view of the sea or take pictures with a flock of flamingos.

A flock of flamingos near where Crypto Bahamas guests gather for their morning yoga sessions.

(Fox News Digital)

Guests returned to Jasmine Lawn for lunches daily.

Most of the presentations came in the form of a panel, with a moderator and speakers on stage discussing crypto-related topics.

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The wind blows through palm leaves on an overcast day at the beach of Baha Mar Resort on New Providence Island in the Bahamas.(Fox News Digital)

Former Democratic presidential candidate and computation-minded entrepreneur Andrew Yang took the stage alongside Blockchain Association CEO Kristen Smith for a discussion titled “How Governments Can Empower People With Crypto.”

“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary joined forces with Jeremy Allaire and former White House spokesperson Anthony Scaramucci, who helped organize the event, to delve deeper into Wall Street’s flirtation with the cryptocurrency markets.

Sam Bankman-Fried, Founder and CEO of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, during the Bloomberg Crypto Summit in New York, US, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.(Jenna Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Other speakers include several technology and business journalists, including FOX Business Network’s Susan Lee.

The group gave Bankman-Fried an air of credibility months before its crypto platform and sister hedge fund collapsed overnight.

Two speakers from Coinbase, the former competitor of FTX and the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, participated in panels focusing on the crypto-based financial system and digital asset infrastructure.

Jasmine Lawn in Baha Mar, where Crypto Bahamas visitors gathered for networking meals during the April conference.(Fox News Digital)

“We talk a lot at industry conferences,” said a spokeswoman for the company.

The event was a success, according to the organizers, and in June they announced a follow-up for 2023.

“We are excited to welcome the crypto community back to the Bahamas in 2023,” Bankman-Fried said at the time.

“The inaugural Crypto Bahamas Conference was a huge success and brought some of the industry’s biggest innovators to the island to collaborate on the ongoing collaboration between TradFi, crypto and DeFi.Everyone at FTX is eager to reveal our plans as we get bigger and better for next year’s conference.”

But when Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of crypto giant Binance, took a look at Bankman-Field’s finances, he said he saw red flags and dumped nearly half a billion dollars in FTT tokens — quickly leading to a crash.

“He was lying to everyone,” he told me on Friday morning.“This guy is likely to get into a lot of trouble, most likely he will go to jail.”

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SALT did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it still plans to host the second conference after the collapse of FTX.The telco that previously represented Crypto Bahamas’ FTX said it would no longer do business with the company on Friday.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Megan Heaney and Matteo Senna contributed to this report.

Michael Ruiz is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @tweet

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