A number of sources familiar with the matter, including the New York Times, have revealed that the ex-CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, had used Google Documents to maintain a diary.
The said diary offers a glimpse into the challenges that the former chief executive had to face before the downfall of FTX.
According to some of the excerpts that were discovered, Ellison was not very confident about her position and there was a ‘significant decrease’ in her enthusiasm for Alameda.
This was after she broke up with Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and co-founder of FTX, who was also the owner of the quantitative trading firm, Alameda Research.
The diary
On July 20th, 2023, the New York Times published a report in which it talked to four people familiar with the matter about the diary maintained by the former Alameda Research CEO, Caroline Ellison.
Some of the pages of the diary that was maintained on Google Docs were reviewed by the publication as well.
These Google documents have allegedly been circulated in court by the lawyers who are going up against Sam Bankman-Fried in his case.
The diary of the former CEO provides some insight into her professional as well as personal life, while she was part of the now-defunct crypto empire of FTX.
The excerpts
In February of last year, Ellison had become overwhelmed and dissatisfied with her job. She mentioned in the diary that she wanted to go home, turn off her phone, enjoy a drink, and keep her distance.
Some of the excerpts from the diary also highlighted the romantic relationship between her and Sam Bankman-Fried.
Ellison said that this element was responsible for some drama and weirdness. She also explained in another document that she did not believe she qualified for leading Alameda Research.
She had written that she had not felt well-suited or advantaged to run the trading company. The report revealed that when the $32 billion FTX empire collapsed, Ellison had been relieved.
The collapse
The former Alameda CEO had been relieved to learn that the chaos was coming to an end. She had written that while she had dreaded that day, it felt great to realize that it would finally be over.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial will begin in October this year and Ellison will make an appearance to testify against him, as will two of her coworkers.
In December 2022, her testimony had been published and she had alleged in the testimony that she was ordered to commingle customer funds by Bankman-Fried in 2019.
In addition, there is also a possibility that in her position at the quantitative trading firm, Ellison could have underperformed.
As a matter of fact, she could have held an FTX margin position back in May 2022 that was valued at a negative $1.3 billion.
More details are expected to be revealed once Bankman-Fried’s trial gets underway, which will shed some light on one of the biggest collapses in the crypto industry.