<p>Former FTX executive Gary Wang is set to retake the stand on Friday and continue testifying against his former roommate and boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, who stands accused of stealing billions of dollars from customers of the cryptocurrency exchange.</p>.<p>Wang, 30, is one of three FTX insiders who have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and entered a cooperation agreement with the government. He and Bankman-Fried were college roommates before going on to co-found the hedge fund Alameda Research.</p>.<p>Wang testified on Thursday that while at FTX, he created software code at the direction of Bankman-Fried that gave "special privileges" to Alameda, allowing it to withdraw unlimited funds.</p>.Explained | Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial - Who are the key names?.<p>Prosecutors have said those privileges were one of the main mechanisms that Bankman-Fried used to plunder customer assets, leading to the exchange's collapse in November 2022.</p>.<p>Bankman-Fried's attorney said during opening statements on Tuesday that FTX was a startup, and that Alameda was not just an ordinary customer on the exchange but a market maker, which generated supply and demand in the exchange's early days.</p>.<p>While Wang is the first cooperator to take the stand, jurors have so far heard from three other witnesses. A former FTX user testified he was unable to withdraw his funds after the exchange collapsed, and Matt Huang, the head of a crypto-focused fund that invested in FTX, said he was told Alameda received "no preferential treatment" on the platform.</p>.<p>Adam Yedidia, a former FTX computer programmer who reported to Wang, testified that he expressed concern to Bankman-Fried in mid-2022 after learning that Alameda had borrowed $8 billion from the exchange. He said Bankman-Fried appeared worried and told him the companies were "not bulletproof" as they had been the year before.</p>.<p>Zac Prince, the founder of crypto lender BlockFi, is among the witnesses expected to testify after Wang finishes when the trial resumes next Tuesday.</p>
<p>Former FTX executive Gary Wang is set to retake the stand on Friday and continue testifying against his former roommate and boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, who stands accused of stealing billions of dollars from customers of the cryptocurrency exchange.</p>.<p>Wang, 30, is one of three FTX insiders who have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and entered a cooperation agreement with the government. He and Bankman-Fried were college roommates before going on to co-found the hedge fund Alameda Research.</p>.<p>Wang testified on Thursday that while at FTX, he created software code at the direction of Bankman-Fried that gave "special privileges" to Alameda, allowing it to withdraw unlimited funds.</p>.Explained | Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial - Who are the key names?.<p>Prosecutors have said those privileges were one of the main mechanisms that Bankman-Fried used to plunder customer assets, leading to the exchange's collapse in November 2022.</p>.<p>Bankman-Fried's attorney said during opening statements on Tuesday that FTX was a startup, and that Alameda was not just an ordinary customer on the exchange but a market maker, which generated supply and demand in the exchange's early days.</p>.<p>While Wang is the first cooperator to take the stand, jurors have so far heard from three other witnesses. A former FTX user testified he was unable to withdraw his funds after the exchange collapsed, and Matt Huang, the head of a crypto-focused fund that invested in FTX, said he was told Alameda received "no preferential treatment" on the platform.</p>.<p>Adam Yedidia, a former FTX computer programmer who reported to Wang, testified that he expressed concern to Bankman-Fried in mid-2022 after learning that Alameda had borrowed $8 billion from the exchange. He said Bankman-Fried appeared worried and told him the companies were "not bulletproof" as they had been the year before.</p>.<p>Zac Prince, the founder of crypto lender BlockFi, is among the witnesses expected to testify after Wang finishes when the trial resumes next Tuesday.</p>