FTX had an office across the street from the White House

FTX used to have a D.C. office across the street from the White House and the Treasury Department, according to court documents.

It’s closer — at least physically — than either the Blockchain Association or Coin Center’s offices were to key lawmakers, which are a 25- and 10-minute drive away, respectively.

The office has come up in court documents because FTX’s legal team is trying to get a judge’s permission to mutually terminate a lease with the property owner, Metropolitan Square Associates. It is typical for a company to terminate leases and sell property that it does not believe will be essential to the restructuring after entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

West Realm Shires, the parent company of FTX’s US-based operations, signed a lease for 655 15th Street NW in DC on August 3, 2022, which was set to expire in August 2028. West Realm Shires paid a $32,000 deposit for “non- the homes” property”, according to court documents filed on Monday.

The location, referred to as Met Square on Google Maps, appears to house a WeWork co-working space, where companies can sign leases for permanent, private workspaces.

The terms proposed by FTX’s legal team will mark the lease as “mutually terminated” effective December 21. Metropolitan Square will retain the deposit on condition that it waives its rights to all other claims against FTX.

FTX’s draft agreement would also allow the bankrupt crypto exchange to leave personal assets in the office – but not business or financial records – as long as a third party has no claim.

FTX, once the second largest centralized crypto exchange by volume behind Binance, took a big hit when a report revealed that Alameda Research, the trading desk, had billions of illiquid FTX Token (FTT) on its balance sheet against billions in liabilities. The subsequent rush to sell FTT, including by former FTX investor Binance, and withdraw funds from FTX eventually forced the company to admit it did not have one-to-one reserves of customer funds, freeze withdrawals and file for bankruptcy .

Before things fell apart for FTX, the company seemed pretty optimistic about its ability to make an impact in DC

That often meant Bankman-Fried stepped on others’ toes and spoke with, rather than to, other lobbyists in the crypto industry, according to Blockchain Association executive director Kristin Smith.

“There was a situation where a group of lobbyists and advocates met to have a strategy session and he showed up in the middle of it and spoke to us for 45 minutes and then left,” Smith said Decrypt in December. “And so I think my understanding is that a lot of the conversations were kind of one-sided. But at the same time, I think people were very interested in Sam. They thought he was available.”

Smith was very clear when he said that neither Bankman-Fried nor FTX were ever members of the Blockchain Association. But she got a sense of how he enjoyed operating in D.C.: He was diligent in creating opportunities to rub elbows with lawmakers, such as hosting breakfasts with senators and going to happy hours with congressional staffers.

The White House, meanwhile, has been reluctant to comment on their interactions with Bankman-Fried. In mid-December, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to answer questions about donations made by Bankman-Fried to President Joe Biden’s campaign. Last week, the White House confirmed four meetings with the FTX founder during 2022, but claimed those meetings were only about pandemic preparedness programs and “general information” regarding crypto markets.

Bankman-Fried made what appeared to be his first big splash in Washington in December 2021 when he testified before the House Financial Services Committee alongside Coinbase, USD Coin issuer Circle and other industry players.

At the time, he shared a link to FTX’s policy website on Twitter. The website, which is still live, was updated as recently as October with a blog post including a draft of “a set of standards that we as an industry can adopt to create clarity and protect customers.”

A month after the blog post was published, the FTX empire had crumbled and Bankman-Fried was days away from being arrested and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, among other charges. He has since been extradited to the United States, where he was placed under house arrest at his parents’ home and pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges. His trial date was set for October 2, 2023.