SBF defense petitions court to let them bring up Anthropic investment

Two defense letters are attempting to countering the prosecution’s claims and bolster their own

article-image

Artwork by Crystal Le

share

Late Tuesday, attorneys for Sam Bankman-Fried presented two letters to the Southern District Court of New York, addressing pivotal elements of the ongoing high-profile federal fraud trial.

One letter, directed to Judge Lewis Kaplan, petitions the court to permit discussions on the involvement of legal counsel in establishing auto-deletion policies at Alameda

The defense is jockeying for position on allegations that Bankman-Fried implemented these policies on platforms such as Signal and Slack to conceal unlawful actions. 

A salient point in the letter centers on whether Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s former CEO, was cognizant that these policies were formulated with legal oversight, thereby suggesting no malintent behind their inception.

Read more: Co-founder Wang says FTX code allowed Alameda’s ‘unlimited withdrawals’

Ellison’s Tuesday testimony shed light on the internal dynamics of the trading firm. Although designated as the head, Ellison underscored that billion-dollar decision-making rested predominantly with Bankman-Fried, even as she oversaw daily operations. 

Ellison depicted her former boss’s pronounced appetite for risk, especially with her analysis pointing to a significant financial danger for Alameda. 

Despite these findings, Bankman-Fried is said to have greenlighted a $3 billion venture investment and, subsequently, a $2 billion venture fund under the FTX banner, allegedly due to perceived brand disparities with Alameda.

Anthropic

The second letter from the defense challenges the prosecution’s move to omit discussions, based on claims of irrelevancy, on Bankman-Fried’s $500 million investment in Anthropic AI

It’s being argued that the tech enterprise has appreciated substantially since its acquisition by the former FTX CEO back in April 2022.

This appreciation, they argue, exemplifies the efficacy of Alameda’s investment strategy, thereby countering the government’s narrative which casts Alameda’s venture capital endeavors as precarious and unprofitable.

The defense’s rationale is underpinned by the belief that the Anthropic investment offers essential context to the jury. Given that a tenet of the prosecution’s strategy has been framing Bankman-Fried’s financial choices as impetuous, the defense is attempting to mitigate such insinuations.

Read more: SBF said FTX was not ‘bulletproof’ months before demise, testimony reveals

“Here, the significant appreciation in Anthropic since last year reflects this important context and is relevant to testimony that the Government has elicited from Ms. Ellison concerning expected value analyses,” the letter reads.

Judge Kaplan issued an order in response to one of the letters late Tuesday evening, though the information is not yet available for public record.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Bluefin possibly stands at an inflection point. The token is near an all-time low yet the protocol’s spot volume market share and derivatives exchange usage have been increasing month over month since its November launch. Given its current market position and the upcoming upgrades (for both Bluefin and SUI), there may be upside potential before the increased supply growth in December. However, strong opposition from existing competitors (like Cetus and Suilend), as well as new entrants (like Aftermath), pose key challenges to Bluefin’s medium-term success.

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens