Interviews and messages show how SBF used PACs, nonprofits, and consulting firms to woo politicians, regulators, and others to support his crypto goals (New York Times)

Tracy Wang / CoinDesk:
Current and former FTX and Alameda staffers say the Bahamian operation SBF ran with housemates is full of conflicts of interest, nepotism, and lack of oversight  —  “The whole operation was run by a gang of kids in the Bahamas,” a person familiar with the matter told CoinDesk on condition of anonymity.

Kari McMahon / The Block:
A profile of FTX co-founder and CTO Gary Wang, who sources say doesn’t talk much, is hard to contact, and was one of the few with “root access” to the code base  —  – FTX’s billionaire co-founder Gary Wang has a limited online presence and has stayed out of the spotlight throughout the crypto exchange’s three-year history.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
The SEC charges ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and ex-FTX CTO Gary Wang for their role in defrauding FTX’s investors at SBF’s direction between 2019 and 2022  —  The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) …

Kate Clark / The Information:
SBF quietly invested $500M+ in Paradigm, Altimeter, and other VCs, including, sources say a $200M commitment to Sequoia, and $300M to K5 per PitchBook  —  FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was not only a tireless fundraiser from venture capital firms including Paradigm and Sequoia Capital …

Alexandra S. Levine / Forbes:
At Code, CEOs and politicians voiced concerns about TikTok’s power, rapid growth, and surveillance potential, with some calling for it to be banned altogether  —  At the Code Conference in LA, tech and media CEOs and politicians all expressed concerns about the Chinese-owned app — as a competitor, and as a national security risk.

New York Times:
Sources: US prosecutors are seeking information from Democrats and Republicans about donations from SBF and ex-FTX executives Ryan Salame and Nishad Singh  —  Federal prosecutors appear to be focusing on possible wrongdoing by cryptocurrency executives, rather than by Democratic or Republican politicians.