Michael Lewis reveals details of SBF’s relationship with Caroline Ellison

“Honestly, I have no soul.” Such a confession was made by the founder FTX Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in Michael Lewis’s Going Infinite, The Block reports.

The biography details the internal struggle of the former crypto billionaire, prompted by his controversial relationship with former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison. The author concluded that Bankman-Fried found himself in a bind due to the need to balance his public role at FTX with duties at Alameda.

“In many respects I have no soul,” — Bankman-Fried admitted in a note to his former lover.

The former head of FTX used a pros-and-cons analysis to evaluate his relationship with Ellison. The pros included identified drawbacks and the potential PR catastrophe their relationship could unleash. The cons list, by contrast, was concise, reflecting his attachment.

Bankman-Fried decided to delegate the day-to-day operations at Alameda to Sam Trabucco and Ellison. To the former he entrusted the management of trading risk, to the latter — leadership of the team. Later Bankman-Fried promoted his partner to co-CEO, allowing her to oversee both functions, making her his sole boss.

According to Lewis, the move created some difficulties, as they were bound by more than professional ties. Ellison, for her part, looked for the relationship to develop, while SBF opposed it.

“There is a fairly strong argument that my empathy and feelings are fake. I worry about the leadership dynamics between us. This could ruin Alameda if things go badly from a PR perspective,” — the message stated.

On the other hand, Bankman-Fried was attached to Ellison, feeling able to speak openly with her and describing her as “good, smart and impressive, with sound judgement.”

From the replies emerged the former Alameda CEO’s desire for a more conventional relationship. The ex-lover complained that they had to hide their relationship. She believed that SBF was ashamed of her.

“If I felt that you also held a positive view of people knowing that we are dating, but simply think sharing it is a bad idea, it would be easier for me. I feel that if I were better/more interesting, you wouldn’t be ashamed for others to know that we are dating,” Ellison explained.

Lewis’s book also includes a chapter on the platform’s collapse. It states that former CTO Nishad Singh urged SBF to insist on his non-involvement even though changes in the code directly pointed to it. The former senior manager gave Bankman-Fried instructions on the actions to take following contact with law enforcement.

The biographical work also states that the former CEO of FTX once discussed paying off the Bahamas’ entire government debt with the country’s prime minister. The amount was $10 billion.

In February 2023, the former CTO pleaded guilty. Caroline Ellison and the exchange’s chief technology officer Gary Wang, as well as the former CEO of FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary Ryan Salame, also agreed to cooperate with investigators. Later the SEC charged Singh with deceiving investors.

As a reminder, the first hearing in the case against FTX and SBF is set for October 3. Ahead of the hearings, ForkLog has gathered the latest news from the defense and the prosecution.