Taylor Swift’s reported partnership with FTX, a now-bankrupt crypto exchange, has been making headlines after a CNBC report revealed that the pop star had agreed to the deal before the exchange ultimately backed out.
This contradicts prior statements from a class-action attorney who suggested that Swift had pulled out of the contract.
Taylor Swift’s Crypto Dreams Dashed By FTX
According to CNBC, Swift’s team signed the $100 million deal with FTX after six months of negotiations. However, the signed agreement was left unanswered in FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s inbox for a few weeks before a group of executives convinced him not to follow through with the deal.
On the other hand, It is difficult to say whether this news will impact the ongoing legal proceedings against FTX and Bankman-Fried. However, the revelation that Taylor Swift had agreed to the reported partnership deal with FTX, despite prior public claims to the contrary, could potentially undermine the credibility of some of the statements made by the failed crypto exchange and its executives.
The fact that FTX backed out of the deal after Swift had agreed to it could also suggest that the company was experiencing financial difficulties or facing other internal issues. Regulators or other authorities investigating FTX and Bankman-Fried’s alleged wrongdoings could view this as a red flag.
Overall, it is likely that this news will be of interest to the parties involved in the legal proceedings and may be taken into account as part of the investigation. However, it is too soon to tell whether it will significantly impact the case outcome.
Judge Denies Motions To Dismiss Charges Against SBF
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been accused of a wide range of offenses by a New York court about the multibillion-dollar failure of his company.
On Tuesday, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied motions to dismiss 10 of the 13 charges brought against the former business owner, including allegations of irregularities with campaign fundraising and a plan to commit bank fraud. Kaplan also denied assertions that some charges levied against the 31-year-old following his extradition from the Bahamas in December should be withdrawn.
The US government’s case against Bankman-Fried has significantly expanded since he was initially charged with eight counts in December, including wire fraud and conspiring to launder money. Prosecutors added four additional criminal counts in February, including one saying Bankman-Fried colluded to bribe Chinese authorities, and a fifth count was added in late March.
The decision was made a day after a report by John Ray, a former Enron administrator who took over as FTX’s CEO after the firm filed for bankruptcy and shed a negative light on the internal operations of the crypto company before its stunning collapse in November.
In addition, Bankman-Fried was hit with a 13th felony indictment by federal authorities about bribery allegations. Authorities claim that Bankman-Fried attempted to bribe Chinese officials with $40 million in cryptocurrencies to get the accounts of his hedge fund, Alameda Research, unfrozen. According to prosecutors, the accounts the Chinese government had frozen contained digital assets worth more than $1 billion.
Bankman-Fried has already entered a not-guilty plea to eight counts of criminal conspiracy and fraud and has not yet been charged with any offenses on five more counts. He could spend over 155 years behind bars if found guilty on all charges.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com