SBF’s trial is coming to a close — here’s what you missed

Welcome back to Chain Reaction.

To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important crypto stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday at 12 p.m. PT, subscribe here.

It’s week five of the Sam Bankman-Fried trial and a lot has happened for the former CEO of FTX.

He testified in front of jurors, for numerous days, after doing a hearing testimony without them present.

While we would have preferred to learn more about what transpired from the man behind the madness himself, he offered little context, especially when asked about his prior decisions and actions during cross-examination with prosecutors. In total, he said a whole lot of nothing, and yet, everything in his testimony, all at the same time (TC+). Bankman-Fried said “Yup” 372 times, “Not sure” 117 times and “I don’t remember” 73 times, for context.

Now his verdict lies in the hands of 12 jurors, who will determine whether Bankman-Fried is guilty of seven charges related to fraud and money laundering.

With that said, our crypto coverage was all-in on SBF’s trial this past week, so let’s get into it.

SBF trial

1. SBF’s prosecutors emphasize the case is not about crypto: ‘It’s about lies. It’s about stealing, greed.’ (TC+)

2. Prosecution tries to paint Sam Bankman-Fried as a liar (TC+)

3. SBF’s defense puts forth a 35-minute last-ditch effort to show his goodwill (TC+)

4. Sam Bankman-Fried says he didn’t defraud FTX customers or take their funds (TC+)

The latest pod

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn is joined by TechCrunch+ Editor in Chief Alex Wilhelm to discuss the end of the trial for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, who is facing seven charges related to fraud and money laundering.

They talked about:

• SBF’s testimony

• The prosecution’s closing arguments

• The defense’s closing arguments

• Key points in the case

• What’s next for the trial

Subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the latest episodes, and please leave us a review if you like what you hear!

Follow the money

1. Modulus raised a $6.3 million seed round to bring AI technology to dApps

2. Blockchain infrastructure and tooling startup Kana Labs raised $2 million in a seed round

3. Surf Protocol raised $3 million to create a perpetual decentralized exchange on Coinbase’s Base blockchain

4. Blockchain transaction tracking platform Vaas raised $2 million in a pre-seed round

5. Anapaya Systems raises $2 million from Mysten Labs to build web3 infrastructure

This list was compiled with information from Messari as well as TechCrunch’s own reporting.

What else we’re writing

Want to branch out from the world of web3? Here are some articles on TechCrunch that caught our attention this week.

1. A new generation of companies is moving on up in San Francisco

2. For VCs and founders, building in public is about filling the top of the funnel (TC+)

3. Founders: It’s never too early to start planning for your succession (TC+)

4. Don’t be surprised if WeWork files for bankruptcy (TC+)

5. Southeast Asia funding at its lowest level in six years

Follow me on Twitter @Jacqmelinek for breaking crypto news, memes and more.