SBF could take the stand on Thursday as prosecutors pass baton to defense

Sam Bankman-Fried (aka SBF), founder of defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, might take the stand on Thursday as his defense team readies its case against fraud charges. 

SBF has been on trial over the past week as his former colleagues and close friends testified against him in exchange for possible deals offered by the prosecution team. Meanwhile, the platform is looking at three possible options as it works its way toward resuming operations.

Also Read: FTX to choose from three options amid plans to resume cryptocurrency trading in December

SBF likely to testify in his defense on Thursday

In a Twitter spaces event with CoinDesk, lawyers from the defense team indicated that SBF would be taking the stand possibly on Thursday. This comes after the prosecution team, led by AUSA Nicholas Roos, handed the stage to the defense to make its argument. Inner City Press’s Mathew Russell Lee has corroborated the speculation as well.

According to his lawyer, Bankman-Fried will begin testifying tomorrow, October 26,  with the legal experts anticipating a direct examination to be the same length as Caroline Ellison's. Ellison was among SBF’s inner circle, alongside Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, who cut deals with the US government to testify against their former boss and friend.

Based on their individual and joint testimonies, SBF knowingly defrauded investors, lenders, and customers to the tune of billions of dollars. According to legal experts, the case has been going extremely badly for SBF, with some observers pointing the blame at the defendant’s poor legal representation.

Joseph Tully, a prominent criminal defense attorney, and Josh Klayman, a digital assets lawyer with Linklaters, have commented publically that the defense team was poor at questioning witnesses and that the judge even seemed to be mocking SBF’s lawyers at times.

Reasons SBF could take the stand

According to Klayman and Tully, SBF could indeed take the stand, owing to his own “confidence in his persuasive abilities.” The lawyers also added that SBF testifying makes more sense since the defendant has lost everything already.

“SBF is very likely to be convicted on at least some of the multiple counts of fraud he faces, and he’s very likely to go to prison. His best chance of a reduced sentence, the thinking goes, is to make a case that he never intended to defraud.”

Meanwhile, for a victory against SBF, the prosecution must prove two things. First, that investors and customers were defrauded. Secondly, that SBF knowingly and deliberately deceived customers. According to Tully, SBF taking the stand would be a great risk to his defense, with the court likely to coax him into saying things he ought to keep to himself.