How FTX's Singh turned to crypto crime

Nishad Singh followed Sam Bankman-Fried into the high-stakes world of cryptocurrency trading. Now he could help put the former FTX chief executive in prison.

- Alexander Osipovich

Mr. Singh, the 27-year-old former director of engineering at FTX, pleaded guilty this week to six criminal counts, including wire fraud. He agreed to cooperate with the government's investigation of FTX's collapse.

The deal means Mr. Singh could end up testifying against a colleague and friend whom he has known since childhood. Just a few months ago, he and Mr. Bankman-Fried were housemates in the Bahamas, living in a luxury penthouse with other executives at FTX and its sister trading firm, Alameda Research.

"I'm unbelievably sorry for my role in all of this and the harm that it has caused," Mr. Singh said in a court hearing in Manhattan on Tuesday.

Mr. Singh attended the same elite Silicon Valley prep school as Mr. Bankman-Fried and was close friends with his younger brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried. Like the Bankman-Fried brothers and several other top FTX executives, Mr. Singh was a proponent of effective altruism, a movement that urges adherents to make big bucks so they can give their fortune to charity.

Former colleagues said Mr. Singh was a well-liked figure at FTX, seen as kind and thoughtful and the most approachable member of the inner circle.

The three other members of that circle were Mr. BankmanFried; Gary Wang, the reclusive genius who was FTX's chief technology officer; and Caroline Ellison, the chief executive officer of Alamedabefore its collapse. Both Mr. Wang and Ms. Ellison pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December.

Mr. Singh's former colleagues expressed disbelief that he got caught up in the alleged misuse of FTX customer funds, saying they found it hard to reconcile with his apparently sincere devotion to ethics and philanthropy.