Google And BlackRock Considered Investing In FTX Before The Crisis

Key Points:

• Google and BlackRock considered investing in FTX during a financial crisis.
• A spreadsheet showed their interest and due diligence efforts before FTX’s collapse.
• This underscores major corporations’ growing interest in the cryptocurrency industry.

According to Decrypt, it has come to light that Google and BlackRock were on the verge of investing in FTX, just as the exchange was facing a dire financial situation.

Corporate Giants Google and BlackRock Eye FTX Amid Crisis

During the ongoing criminal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former leader of FTX, critical documents have emerged that shed light on the potential involvement of these corporate giants.

Can Sun, FTX’s former general counsel, testified and unveiled a crucial spreadsheet detailing FTX’s fundraising plan. This spreadsheet, now made public, indicates that FTX was actively seeking investors for an uncompleted funding round.

According to Can Sun, FTX’s Series C financing efforts began in the late summer and fall of 2022. The spreadsheet reveals that 15 potential investors, including BlackRock, Google, and Apollo, expressed interest in participating in this financing round, with Google and BlackRock both considering investments as having a “medium” probability. Notably, both companies had undertaken due diligence on FTX prior to its sudden financial woes last November.

Revealing Spreadsheet Unveils Interest in FTX Investment

Intriguingly, as FTX faced an impending collapse, both Google and BlackRock were in the process of evaluating the exchange. BlackRock had previously invested $24 million in FTX, as confirmed by CEO Larry Fink, and Google, while not directly investing in Bankman-Fried’s endeavors, shared a connection through a cap table.

Google’s announcement of a $400 million investment in AI startup Anthropic earlier this year further solidified the ties between the companies, as Anthropic had received backing from Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research.

This revelation underscores the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency space and the interest it has generated among major corporations like Google and BlackRock. It also raises questions about the evolving relationship between traditional finance and the crypto industry.

Coincu will continue to update the situation related to Sam Bankman-Fried, you can find out more information through this article.

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