Sam Bankman-Fried always said everything he did was a calculation. When he was riding high, the disgraced FTX founder built his aura by suggesting that he used his math skills to weigh every action large and small, and choose the optimal outcome. Now, in the next week or so, he will get to use those skills to decide on the ultimate wager: whether to take the stand in a high-stakes gamble for his freedom.
As you have likely read, Bankman-Fried’s prospects aren’t looking good. The prosecution has made a powerful case that he engaged in blatant fraud by looting customer money to pay for everything from luxury pads to political donations. His onetime girlfriend and best friends hung him out to dry with damning text messages and testimonies that portrayed him as a sneaky and insensitive creep.
