Kevin O’Leary, the millionaire investor and “Shark Tank” television personality, was reportedly paid $15.7 million for promoting the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX. O’Leary allegedly received the payment in exchange for “twenty service hours, 20 social media posts, one virtual lunch, and five autographs”. The exact timeline and details of the agreement remain undisclosed, but it is known that O’Leary was a paid spokesperson for FTX in Q4 2022. FTX went under in November 2022, sinking with over $8 billion of customer funds. Bitcoin (BTC) prices flash-crashed to as low as $15,800 before rebounding in subsequent sessions. O’Leary has since expressed disappointment in the collapse, calling it a “costly mistake”. He has been criticized for failing to pick out the flaws in the offer and for promoting the exchange. The criminal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the ex-FTX boss, began on October 3. He faces seven criminal charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that over $8 billion in customer funds was routed to Alameda, a trading wing associated with FTX, through direct deposits. This backdoor was fused as part of FTX’s code. Whether the ex-FTX boss will testify is not currently known. If found guilty, Bankman-Fried might spend the next 100 years in prison. Whether O’Leary will be penalized for violating securities laws is unknown.

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Information	Details
Geography	North America
Countries
Sentiment	negative
Relevance Score	8
People	Adam Moskowitz, Sam Bankman-Fried, Kevin O’Leary, Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Taylor Swift
Companies	MIT, FTX, Southern District of New York, Alameda, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Currencies	FintruX, Ethereum, Bitcoin, US Dollar
Securities	None