Former FTX chief operating officer Constance Wang has criticized Netflix’s upcoming limited series The Altruists, saying its trailer’s portrayal of the exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison did not match her experience. Wang said she stopped watching within the first 30 seconds because the depiction made her feel physically upset.
Wang also rejected the trailer’s emphasis on the relationship between Bankman-Fried and Ellison and said Bankman-Fried was more socially awkward than the actor’s portrayal. She said the workplace shown in the drama looked nothing like the FTX she knew.
The eight-episode series stars Anthony Boyle as Bankman-Fried and Julia Garner as Ellison. It is scheduled to premiere globally on Nov. 19, with the story framed around two ambitious idealists whose attempt to reshape finance ended in an $8 billion scandal. The trailer’s creative team has described the characters as people whose intentions deteriorated into serious crimes, while the production also includes Madison Hu as Wang.
FTX collapsed in November 2022 after the misuse of customer funds and its financial ties to Alameda Research triggered a liquidity crisis. Federal prosecutors said Bankman-Fried directed billions of dollars in customer deposits to Alameda and used the money for investments, political contributions, loans and other expenses. He was convicted on seven fraud and conspiracy counts and sentenced in March 2024 to 25 years in prison. Ellison pleaded guilty, cooperated with prosecutors and testified against him before receiving a two-year sentence.
Wang later founded Pacifica, a bootstrapped crypto trading platform that began as a Solana-based decentralized perpetual-futures exchange. She has said she plans to add artificial-intelligence capabilities and develop the platform into trading infrastructure with strategic tools for investors.