FTX engaged BlackRock and Google as potential investors while Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange circled the drain last November, according to evidence submitted in the one-time wunderkind’s criminal trial on Thursday.
Federal prosecutors offered a spreadsheet maintained by the now-defunct exchange connected to its fundraisers as FTX’s former general counsel, Can Sun, testified. The document includes info about various fundraising rounds—including one that Sun said “never closed.”
According to his testimony, FTX’s C1 funding round began in the “late summer and fall of 2022.” The spreadsheet indicates that 15 potential investors should be “engage[d] pronto,” including BlackRock, Google, and Apollo, which Sun spoke about specifically during his testimony.
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“They asked for Apollo [...] to invest in FTX to help solve a liquidity problem that FTX had for customer withdrawals,” Sun recalled, adding he was involved in discussions with the firm..
There was a “medium” chance that BlackRock and Google would participate in the funding round, the spreadsheet indicates. It also states that both firms were conducting due diligence on Bankman Fried’s exchange before it collapsed on November 11.
Bankman-Fried is defending himself against seven fraud and conspiracy charges as a result of his conduct at FTX. Bankman-Fried stands accused of defrauding customers by using billions worth of customer funds for loans to insiders, political donations, venture investments, and buying real estate. He’s also accused of misleading FTX’s investors, which is now the subject of an SEC lawsuit.

A screenshot of a spreadsheet used as evidence in the criminal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried showing potential investors—and notes on which ones to "engage pronto"—in an ill-fated "C1 round" the company tried to raise right before it filed for bankruptcy. Source: Court filings
According to the spreadsheet, there was an equal chance that Google, BlackRock, venture capital firm NEA, and Qatar Investment Authority would participate in the funding round. The spreadsheet lists Temasek and Standard Crypto as “high” probability investors.
BlackRock invested $24 million in FTX before it went bust, CEO Larry Fink said at a New York Times DealBook event last year. Google never directly invested in Bankman-Fried’s companies, but shares a cap table with him. In February, Google announced a $400 million investment in AI startup Anthropic, which Bankman-Fried’s trading firm Alameda Research has also backed.
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Neither BlackRock nor Google immediately responded to a request for comment from Decrypt.
The spreadsheet shown to jurors this week indicates that six firms, including a16z and General Atlantic, “declined” to participate in the mid-2022 funding round. Listed just under Columbia and Harvard, the spreadsheet shows Vanderbilt University had committed $5 million to the round.
Vanderbilt University did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.
Still, Sun said on Thursday that the funding round never closed, and “investors did not actually put money into FTX” as part of the exchange’s failed C1 funding round.
Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, who has pleaded guilty to several charges in connection to the disgraced crypto mogul’s case, testified that Bankman-Fried “would try to raise capital by selling FTX equity” to get more money in October 2022.
Caroline Ellison: Sam Bankman-Fried Told Me to Take Billions From FTX Customers
Although it’s not reflected in the spreadsheet, Ellison said that Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman considered buying equity in FTX, according to conversations she had with Bankman-Fried. Apparently, she added during testimony, it did not work out.
Earlier in Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm, spoke about a $278 million investment in FTX that the firm has “marked to zero.” Huang said if Paradigm had known about Alameda’s ability to FTX customer deposits, it would have given the firm pause.
“​​It was generally understood that customer deposits are sort of sacred,” he said. “To the extent that wasn't true, we would want to know more. And without knowing more, it would be a problem for an investment.”
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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been making massive movements of cryptocurrencies over the past few days creating a buzz in the market. Just recently, Buterin conducted a $15 Million USDC transfer to crypto exchange Gemini.
Vitalik Buterin Clarifies on ETH Transfers
While the crypto community remains confused about the motive behind these transfers, the Ethereum co-founder has come clean explaining his intent behind selling these coins. In one of his recent posts, Buterin noted:
If you see an article saying “Vitalik sends XXX ETH to [exchange]”, it’s not actually me selling, it’s almost always me donating to some charity or nonprofit or other project, and the recipient selling because, well, they have to cover expenses. I haven’t “sold” ETH for personal gain since 2018.
Vitalik Buterin receives a number of cryptocurrencies in his wallet with new crypto projects sending his tokens at the early stage of launch on Ethereum. As a result, the Ethereum co-founder has held the practice of regularly donating all the crypto that he receives.
Buterin was an active donor during the COVID-19 times and has donated millions of dollars to help victims sail through the tough phase.
However, over the last month, he has turned much more active with frequent transfers to the exchanges. Interestingly, this comes at a time when the market has been facing strong selling pressure that thereby makes the crypto community skeptical. Earlier in October, Buterin also transferred $1.64 million worth of ETH to the Bitstamp exchange.
Decentralized Staking
Apart from the transfers, the Ethereum co-founder has also been quite focused on the developments taking place within the Ethereum ecosystem.
In a recent blog post, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, discussed the future of Ethereum staking with a particular focus on addressing the current issue of centralization in the Ethereum ecosystem. He emphasizes the necessity for changes that can rebalance the system, promoting greater decentralization.
Buterin also delves into the concentration of power among Ethereum’s liquid staking providers, highlighting that Lido, a prominent liquid staking pool, holds more than 32% of staked ether.To tackle these challenges, Buterin is exploring more robust solutions.
Rather than solely relying on moral persuasion to encourage stakeholders to diversify their choice of staking providers, Buterin is considering protocol adjustments within Ethereum to enhance the decentralization of liquid staking.

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