Meet Sam Trabucco, the executive who oversaw the Alameda search

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Sam Trabucco was the co-CEO of Alameda Research. He left the crypto hedge fund a few months before its collapse. Before leaving Alameda, he reportedly bought property for $10 million in cash and purchased a 52-foot yacht. US prosecutors have not charged Trabucco with any wrongdoing. LoadingSomething is being loaded.

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Sam Trabucco stepped down as co-CEO of trading firm Alameda Research in August, just months before Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire filed for bankruptcy and lost $8 billion in client money.

As he left in late August, he tweeted, “But if I learned anything at Alameda, it’s how to make good decisions and this is the right one for me.”

The fate of Trabucco, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, is unclear. Here’s what we know from one of Alameda Research’s senior executives.

Bankman-Fried was the sole CEO of Alameda from its inception until October 2021, when Ellison and Trabucco took over. Trabucco was officially in his role as co-CEO of Alameda for less than a year, according to a court filing, from October 2021 to August 2022.

Trabucco, 30, has not been publicly accused of any wrongdoing. He left the company in August, moving Caroline Ellison to CEO of Alameda.

Trabucco significantly reduced his role at Alameda in the months leading up to his departure. He couldn’t “personally continue to justify the time investment of being a core part of Alameda,” he tweeted, adding that he would remain as an advisor to the company but would not have a “strong day-to-day presence.”

Trabucco wanted to “prioritize other things”.

“What other things? I’m really not sure, exactly. I’ve been very happy lately, spending a lot of time traveling, visiting friends and family, working on ‘me’ and so on. sequel,” he said. “Plus I bought a boat, that was cool. I needed to relax and I’m really, really happy.”

Prior to leaving Alameda, Trabucco was reported to have bought property for $10 million in cash, buying two luxury apartments in San Francisco, according to Protos. He also bought a 52ft yacht, which he named “Soak my Deck”. The Financial Times reported that Trabucco even paid a freelancer on Fiverr to design the logo for the boat.

Just over a month after leaving FTX, Trabucco tweeted, “Why are the reporters so excited to have me quit for anything other than a desire to go fast on the nice water.”

Sam Trabucco (@AlamedaTrabucco) September 28, 2022

Bankman-Fried and Trabucco have known each other for more than a decade. They met during a five-week math camp at Mount Holyoke College in 2010, where Trabucco said Bankman-Fried rarely slept while there, Insider reported.

The two then reconnected at college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Trabucco studied math and computer science. Before joining Alameda as a trader in 2019, he had a stint as a quantitative trader on Susquehanna’s bond exchange-traded fund desk, according to his LinkedIn.

In a press release announcing Trabucco and Ellison’s decision to become co-CEOs, the company said the two will “oversee all operations of Alameda while collaborating to execute the organization’s strategy” and “focus on managing the trading desk”.

The former executive was an aggressive crypto trader, employing risky bets in Alameda’s business. Trabucco has indicated in a series of public comments that it also uses poker and blackjack strategies in trading, Bloomberg reported.

“Bigger is bigger (when the bets are better),” he tweeted in January 2021, explaining how his gaming experience has shaped his trading methods. “Getting it good is a poker term referring to the idea that when your odds are the best…you want to bet more.”

When crypto exchange OKX suspended user withdrawals on its platform in January 2021, Alameda began buying back positions from investors wishing to reduce their exposure.

“Not only are we not sellers, we are HUGE buyers – even if it’s risky – because in fact we can take the risk and this trade is EXCELLENT as far as we know – was crucial, and this is something we’ve always intended to do,” he tweeted.

As for his involvement in FTX’s downfall, U.S. prosecutors have not said Trabucco was involved in any wrongdoing, even though he worked in Alameda’s C-suite with several executives who now face a slew of criminals. accusations.

“[Sam] isn’t really involved in day-to-day operations at Alameda,” Trabucco told CoinDesk in October 2021. “Caroline and I led the charge [at Alameda] for a while.”

Despite his assertions to the media more than a year ago, “Bankman-Fried remained the ultimate decision maker at Alameda, even after Ellison and Trabucco became co-CEOs,” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said. United in its complaint against the fallen FTX. CEO.

The court document reads: “Bankman-Fried directed investment and operating decisions, communicated frequently with Alameda employees, and had full access to Alameda records and databases. “

Trabucco did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

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