Reviewing SBF's first testimony, attempting to shift blame to former legal counsel, testimony mainly focused on "I don't remember"

SBF appeared in court for the first time, but this trial did not have a jury, so it was more like a warm-up match between the prosecution and SBF. SBF did not present any stunning strategies, but rather emphasized on not remembering. His answers were evasive and lengthy, often using words like "possibly," "I speculate," etc., but "I don't remember" was the most frequent response. The presiding judge sarcastically commented that SBF's responses were "quite interesting."

SBF's Main Testimony: "I Don't Remember, I Just Followed Legal Advice"

According to records from Inner City Press, SBF stated that he followed many suggestions from former legal advisor Daniel Friedberg, and he doesn't remember many things, such as:

• Doesn't remember discussing a $13 billion fund gap with executives

• Doesn't remember saying that retaining internal communications could lead to regulatory issues

• Doesn't know why user funds were transferred through North Dimension

• Not sure if he ever saw a negative balance on Alameda

SBF attempted to shift blame to the former legal advisor's testimony, which was not accepted by presiding judge Lewis Kaplan. Kaplan stated:

Assume someone robs a bank, Walmart, etc., gets a large sum of money, buys a house with it, and then those robbers claim that the lawyer approved the real estate transaction, emphasizing that they had no criminal intent. How is your testimony different from this?

SBF Has Over 300 Signal Groups, Messages Automatically Deleted for Cybersecurity Concerns

SBF mentioned that he seemed to have enabled the weekly automatic message deletion feature in 2021 mainly out of concern for cybersecurity threats, emphasizing that these communication channels are not used for making critical decisions.

SBF stated that the document deletion policy in 2021 was led by FTX's former general counsel Daniel Friedberg and the external law firm Fenwick & West, covering platforms such as Telegram, Slack, and Signal.

FBI agent Mark Troiano mentioned that SBF had at least 300 Signal groups from 2021 to 2022, with around 288 enabling the auto-delete function.

SBF Attempts to Shift Blame to Former Legal Advisor

SBF pointed out that FTX's former general counsel Daniel Friedberg was responsible for merging Alameda's subsidiary North Dimension and applying for bank accounts for North Dimension to receive deposits from FTX users.

According to The Block, SBF was unclear about the reasons for establishing North Dimension, not even understanding the naming rationale, only signing documents provided by the lawyers. SBF stated:

My desk is full of documents to sign every day, and I believe all of these are documents without any issues.

Note: North Dimension Inc. was packaged as a cryptocurrency trading institution but was actually a shell company used to receive deposits and withdrawals for exchange users.

Judge Asks Jury to Leave Before SBF's Testimony?

Presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan requested that all jurors leave before SBF testified:

You will be rendering a verdict in this case next week, and the government believes that the jury should not hear certain testimonies.

Inner City also found this procedure perplexing and speculated:

1. The jury will still hear most of SBF's testimony tomorrow, and the judge is just being precautious.

2. SBF's testimony may face continuous objections, and the judge hopes to determine in advance what the jury will hear.

3. The judge anticipates that most of his questions will be objected to by the defense, so he hopes to address these issues in advance without the jury present.

The presiding judge anticipates that the trial will conclude next week, and SBF will testify in the presence of the jury at that time.