Mark Cohen, the lawyer representing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, said on Wednesday (Oct 4) that crypto was not for everyone and that his client was in a hazardous business. In his opening statement at Bankman-Fried’s trial, Cohen said, “You will learn that crypto was not for everyone. On the one hand, it was new and exciting.”
“But on the other hand, many factors that nobody controlled could make crypto go up and down in value. So too crypto companies themselves could rise and fall very quickly,” he added.
A car race advertisement contradicts a lawyer’s words
However, six months before the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse in November last year, FTX claimed the opposite in an online article about a car race it sponsored in Miami Beach. “Crypto is for everyone, as should motorsports,” FTX wrote on its official Twitter account, now known as X, on May 13, 2022. Along with the message, there was a video of racing automobiles, bartenders pouring cocktails, and retired basketball great Shaquille O’Neal giving high-fives.
During the trial, prosecutors showed FTX video commercials to the jurors, with a narrator saying, “We’re inviting everyone in,” as well as spots featuring NFL star Tom Brady and comedian Larry David.
Cohen told the jury that it was not a crime to “try to get Tom Brady to come on ads for your company.”
The proponents of the insolvent bitcoin exchange, including O’Neal, Brady, and David, had been sued for misleading tactics. The celebrities have stated the lawsuit should be dismissed, claiming they were not responsible for the losses suffered by FTX investors.
Bankman-Fried, 31, pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy in connection with FTX’s demise. Prosecutors announced on Wednesday that the disgraced cryptocurrency star stole $10 billion in client payments to buy luxurious real estate, donate to US political campaigns, and cover losses at his hedge fund.
Prosecutor Thane Rehn stated that FTX’s advertising advertised the exchange as trustworthy despite the fact that Bankman-Fried was allegedly skimming deposits. Cohen stated that his client had never attempted to steal money.