When crypto exchange FTX was struggling to raise cash early last month, it seized billions of dollars worth of collateral from its trading arm, Alameda Research, and used it to try to convince investors of its financial health, former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried said.
But much of it didn’t add up. A big chunk of the assets consisted of four thinly traded crypto tokens closely connected to Mr. Bankman-Fried and FTX employees and mostly held by Alameda. The tokens were likely worth far less than the $6.4 billion marked on the balance sheet FTX was shopping to investors in the hope of a bailout, according to market data and crypto researchers.
