Marc-Antoine Julliard

On Day 2, Julliard testified for the prosecution as an FTX customer. He described researching the exchange before opening an account in spring 2021, considering its size, investors, marketing, leadership, interface, fees, and trading platform.

He said he principally used wire transfers and spot trading, avoided margin and lending products, and deposited 110,000 pounds during a period in 2022. He understood the Bitcoin and dollars displayed in his wallet to be his assets, expected to control withdrawals, and did not expect FTX or another party to use or lend his deposits.

Julliard testified that November posts describing withdrawal delays as technical and assuring customers that assets remained available led him to wait. On November 8, he requested withdrawals of about $20,000 and one Bitcoin; he said the requests were not processed and the deposits shown in his account records were never recovered. The court limited his recollections of news and related reports to their effect on his actions and knowledge.

On cross-examination, Julliard acknowledged knowing that cryptocurrency was unregulated, risky, and capable of substantial gains or losses. He also acknowledged placing a significant amount of savings on FTX, receiving terms of service he could not recall reviewing, never attempting a withdrawal before November 2022, and having no prior personal contact with Bankman-Fried. He did not accept a proposed 70 percent savings estimate, clarified that advertisements did not themselves determine his decision, and described major firms' investment as one contributing factor among his own research. On redirect, he distinguished Bitcoin price volatility from the possibility that FTX would take and spend account assets, a risk he said he had not considered.