The Block CEO resigns after failing to disclose $43 million in personal loans from Alameda Research News โธ Investments
The Block CEO resigns after failing to disclose $43 million in personal loans from Alameda Research
Employees of The Block were not previously made aware of the loans and Bobby Moran, the company's chief revenue officer, will step in as CEO.
2 min read
Updated: Aug. 24, 2023 at 6:13 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Crypto news outlet The Block’s CEO Michael McCaffrey has resigned after failing to disclose a series of loans from Alameda Research – a company linked to former FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).
McCaffrey took over as CEO in 2021 after using a $12 million loan from Alameda to buy out other investors in the company. He received two more loans from Alameda, one for $15 million in January, and another for $16 million earlier this year. McCaffrey will also be stepping down from The Block’s board, which is set to expand to three members.
Founder of The Block, Mike Dudas, expressed distress on Twitter in anticipation of the news of aย “business betrayal” that the community was “all going to learn about” shortly.
i just learned about the worst personal betrayal of my entire life
no words
— Mike Dudas (โณ๏ธ,๐) (@mdudas) December 9, 2022
Bobby Moran, the company’s chief revenue officer, will step in as CEO with immediate effect.
Moran said in a statement that โno one at The Block had any knowledge of this financial arrangement besides Mike.”
โFrom our own experience, we have seen no evidence that Mike ever sought to improperly influence the newsroom or research teams, particularly in their coverage of SBF, FTX and Alameda Research.โ
In the statement, Moran described the news as both “a shock and disappointment to The Block leadership team.”
1/ I have difficult news to share. Iโm stepping down as The Blockโs CEO. While itโs personally painful, itโs the right thing for The Block and the team.
— Mike McCaffrey (@McCaffrMike) December 9, 2022
Moran acknowledged the scrutiny The Block will be under, as the news of Alameda funding becomes public, and gave a closing statement of reassurance on The Block’s integrity:
“The Blockโs mission remains more vital than ever: to be the leading source for objective, impactful, and timely information covering the world of digital assets. I have faith that The Block can and will get through this period in our companyโs history because of the dedication, talent and integrity of our teammates.”
More details to follow
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Posted In: Investments, Media
Author 
Josh O'Sullivan
Josh has been writing for a decade and is passionate about mainstream crypto adoption, bringing positive financial change to the masses through crypto and decentralized finance as a whole.
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In this article
The Block
The Block is one of the leading global information services in the digital asset space.
Alameda Research
Alameda Research was once a principal trading firm, operating as an arm of the failed crypto exchange, FTX.
FTX
FTX is a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, that was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao “Gary” Wang in May 2019.
Mike McCaffrey is the former CEO of The Block, an information services company focused on the digital assets space.
Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO, and co-founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.