The high-profile trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried kicked off on Oct. 3 with plenty of activity both inside and outside of the cramped Manhattan courtroom.
Journalists, crypto influencers, and other gawkers reportedly gathered in a media overflow room to take notes of the day’s events. Here are some of the most colorful observations about the day.
Noticeably leaner, signature haircut gone
The defendant Sam Bankman-Fried appeared noticeably leaner, according to multiple reports.
Flanked by five defense lawyers, he was dressed in a navy suit that seemed bigger on him in previous appearances and his signature unkempt curly locks were subbed for a shorter hairstyle.
Some of the first court sketches of SBF’s new haircut by Jane Rosenberg for Reuters: pic.twitter.com/n0FqW71PWD
— Luc Cohen (@cohenluc) October 3, 2023
Unchained Crypto’s Laura Shin noted that Bankman-Fried was noticeably “less jittery than normal.”
“I did not see him shake his leg at all,” she said in an Oct. 3 podcast.
The only time he spoke was to say “yes” to the judge and occasionally looked at the jurors. Other times, he conferred with his lawyers or was seen typing and scrolling on his air-gapped laptop.
MY SBF HAIRCUT SKETCH VS COURT GUY pic.twitter.com/rNC4MC2xRK
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) October 3, 2023
SBF has spent the past seven weeks or so locked up at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre. When his lawyers unsuccessfully argued for his release, they claimed that he was subsisting on “bread and water” and lacking vegan meal options.
Crypto influencer Tiffany Fong said “he kind of looks more criminal now.”
Journalists, influencers and skeptics come to “crypto prom”
The first day of the trial was described as feeling like “the first day of school,” according to some journalists in attendance.
“I’ve never seen the courthouse like this,” remarked an unnamed member of the press, according to The Slate.
“While waiting to access the media overflow room, I spotted practically anyone and everyone who’s had something to say about decentralized currency over the last few years,” said The Slates’ Nitish Pahwa.
He described it as a “crypto prom” crammed with a hodgepodge of paid media participants, crypto influencers, obsessives, skeptics, and more.
i am standing outside of SDNY for SBF’s trial pic.twitter.com/WDGd8kVqdQ
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) October 3, 2023
Cointelegraph reporter Ana Paula Pereira is also in attendance…
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