The Block CEO resigned

After journalists learned about the connection between The Block and Alameda Research, the first company's chief executive officer, Michael McCaffrey, decided to step down from his position. He was silent about receiving The Block loans from Alameda Research, the total amount of which exceeded $27,000,000. This is especially exposing the company in a negative light in light of recent events with FTX and Alameda Research.

The ex-CEO was replaced by Bobby Moran, who previously acted as chief income officer. McCaffrey also left the Board of Directors of The Block. However, Michael will remain the majority shareholder of The Block.

The board of directors will now be expanded to three people. Representatives of the company are looking for two other people who will help Bobby Moran with making important decisions. Thus, the cryptocurrency edition will be restructured.

According to Moran, one of the main principles of working at The Block is fairness, accuracy and independence:

We are confident that any objective analysis will show that the work of our team has been and remains fair, independent and accurate.

According to Moran, the management of the company did not find any desire on the part of the director to improve the situation in the eyes of the community:

We have not seen any evidence that Michael ever sought to improperly influence the newsroom or research teams, especially in their coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda Research.

Bobby also said that McCaffrey then himself told him about receiving funds:

The news came as a shock and disappointment to The Block executives.[…]This undermines the reputation and credibility of The Block, especially our journalists and researchers, as well as our efforts to increase transparency in the industry. As a result of Mike's actions, we asked him to resign.

Michael McCaffrey received loans from Alameda Research three times in total, according to reports received by reporters. The funds were first sent to The Block accounts in 2021 to buy back investments in the company. Then the loan amount was $12,000,000.

The second act of lending in the amount of $15,000,000 took place in January 2021. It was intended to finance day-to-day operations. The Block last received $16,000,000 in early 2022. The purpose of using these funds may be important, but certainly not for the development of the organization. The third loan was spent on the purchase of personal property in the Bahamas.

On November 7th, FTX experienced financial difficulties that prevented them from allowing users to withdraw funds. Four days later, the American cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy, and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Freed resigned.

Since that moment, journalists have been actively engaged in the issue of finding a connection between FTX, Alameda Research and other companies in order to understand where the funds from the American exchange have gone. They have long established that Sam Bankman-Fried abused his position to close debts at Alameda Research, his other company. The ex-head claims that this is a lie.

John Ray III, who took his place, said that he had never seen such cases of bankruptcy in 40 years of experience and called Sam a real amateur. Many other cryptocurrency enthusiasts, in turn, call the former head of FTX an advanced fraudster who knows his business perfectly. Thus, the emerging detail about the connection between The Block and Alameda Research jeopardizes the reputation of the cryptocurrency publication, with which the managers of The Block asked Michael McCaffrey to leave the post of director.