Sam Bankman-Fried Funded The Block

Cryptocurrency media site The Block has confirmed that it received secret funding from Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research over the past two years. As a result, The Block’s CEO, Michael McCaffrey, has resigned and will also step down from the company’s board. The Block stated that no one at the company had knowledge of the loans except for McCaffrey.

Summary

• The Block has confirmed that it received secret funding from Alameda Research over the past two years.
• The Block’s chief revenue officer said that no one at the company had knowledge of the financial arrangement between The Block and Alameda Research, except for former CEO Mike McCaffrey.

According to The Block, McCaffrey received three loans totalling $43 million from 2021 to 2022. The first loan was for $12 million in 2021 to buy out other investors in the media company, at which time McCaffrey became CEO. The second was for $15 million in January to fund daily operations, and the third was for $16 million earlier this year for McCaffrey to purchase personal real estate in the Bahamas. Bobby Moran, The Block’s chief revenue officer, will become the new CEO effective immediately.

In a statement, Bobby Moran, The Block’s chief revenue officer, said that no one at the company had knowledge of the financial arrangement between The Block and Alameda Research, except for former CEO Mike McCaffrey. Moran added that they had seen no evidence of McCaffrey attempting to improperly influence the newsroom or research teams, specifically in their coverage of SBF, FTX, and Alameda Research. Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, is the founder and former CEO of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that filed for bankruptcy last month after a report revealed a close relationship between FTX and Alameda, a trading firm affiliated with FTX.

In a tweet thread, McCaffrey said that in early 2021, the company was in a difficult financial situation and securing a $12 million loan from SBF was the only option. He did not disclose the loan, nor a subsequent $15 million loan, to anyone to avoid the appearance of compromising the objectivity of their coverage of Bankman-Fried and his companies. McCaffrey claimed that he never attempted to influence coverage of FTX, Alameda, or SBF.

1/ I have difficult news to share. I’m stepping down as The Block’s CEO. While it’s personally painful, it’s the right thing for The Block and the team.

— Mike McCaffrey (@McCaffrMike) December 9, 2022

The FTX contagion seems to still be a ravaging menace plaguing its way through the industry and the Block seems to be the latest company caught in its path. Hopefully, with its new CEO, it can be back on its path to greatness.