Bankman-Fried and Ellison’s 2022: 2022 was a year of stark contrasts for SBF and Ellison. At the start of the year, investors valued FTX and FTX US at a combined $40 billion as Alameda was seemingly flush with capital, leading high-profile venture capital raises. But the bear market spares no one. In the case of SBF and Ellison, it exposed a multiyear fraud that came to a head in November when it was reported that Alameda owed FTX $10 billion. It eventually came to light that FTX had lent Alameda the funds using customer deposits. When Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao got a whiff of Alameda’s books — and the massive holdings of FTX Token therein — he unloaded his exchange’s position in FTT. The very public sell-off triggered a run on FTX, which eventually snowballed into a liquidity crisis that led to the combined bankruptcies of FTX, FTX US, Alameda and the rest of SBF’s empire. The aftermath of FTX’s collapse triggered the demise of crypto lenders BlockFi and Genesis, among others. Authorities zeroed in on SBF and Ellison for allegedly conspiring to steal billions of dollars from FTX customers. In December, Ellison pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In doing so, she avoided a 110-year prison sentence. SBF, on the other hand, had a brief stint in a Bahamian prison in December before being extradited to the United States. He would later post a $250-million bail that was collateralized by his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California. He will remain under house arrest at his parents’ house until his trial. He faces eight criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, which could land him up to 115 years in prison.