Taylor Swift agreed to FTX partnership, despite contrary public claims: source

Taylor Swift signed and agreed to a sponsorship deal with bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX after months of discussion, before FTX executives decided not to go through with the deal, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.

The nature of the agreement, which I previously reported New York times Thursday ran counter to public messaging about the nature of the failed FTX-Swift deal. Public statements from the class action lawyers praised Swift’s due diligence efforts and said the artist asked the exchange to explain why its listed assets should not be considered unregistered securities.

But the source familiar with the matter told CNBC that Swift eventually agreed to the deal. The signed agreement was sent to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s inbox, where it remained unanswered for “a few weeks,” the person told CNBC, adding that eventually, he convinced a group of FTX executives Bankman-Fried not to follow through. With the deal reported to be worth $100 million.

Three other sources familiar with the matter told The New York Times that Swift’s team signed the deal with FTX after six months of negotiations, and that Bankman-Fried eventually pulled out.

The person familiar with the matter asked not to be identified due to ongoing federal and bankruptcy proceedings. The existence of the FTX-Swift partnership was first reported by Financial Times.

FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2022. Bankman-Fried faces multiple federal charges, including fraud and campaign finance violations. Three other FTX executives, Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison and Nashad Singh, have pleaded guilty to various federal charges and are cooperating with the government’s prosecution of Bankman Fried.