Nishad Singh is an Indian-American computer engineer who worked at Facebook and is best known for his role as the Director of Engineering at FTX Exchange, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. He was accused of being one of the culprits behind FTX’s collapse and subsequent bankruptcy in 2022.
Wiki/Biography
Nishad was born in 1996 in Saratoga, Santa Clara County, California, United States (age 26; as of 2022). Nishad Singh has been interested in sports since his childhood. However, he suffers from asthma and cannot sprint. He gradually became interested in running ultramarathons and became the second person in the United States to complete an ultramarathon in under 30 hours. He trained in track and field under the tutelage of his coach and stepfather, Rajiv Patel.
Nishad Singh (right) with his coach and stepfather Rajiv Patel
He completed the Silicon Valley Half Marathon at age 12. From 2009 to 2013, he attended Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsboro, California. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical science (BS) in engineering and computer science with summa cum laude (summa cum laude).
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′8″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
His father’s name was Gururaj Singh and his mother’s name was Anu Singh. Later, they divorced. Anu married Rajiv Patel on July 13, 2021; Rajiv is Anu and Nishad’s coach. Anu is also an ultra-marathon runner and an active member of Asha For Education, a charity for children in Kolkata’s slums and red-light districts.
Nishad’s mother Anu Singh (second from left) and stepfather Rajiv Patel (far right) with their friends
Profession
Nishad began his career as an intern at Sierra Ventures from July 2011 to August 2011. From June 2014 to August 2014, he worked as a software engineering intern at Skyhigh Networks. From June 2015 to August 2015, he worked as a software engineering intern at Box. From May 2016 to August 2016, he worked as a software engineering intern at Facebook. At Berkeley Consulting, he served as a consultant from January 2014 to January 2015, as a project manager from January 2015 to June 2015, as a technical director from June 2015 to June 2016, and in 2016 From June to December 2016, he served as Vice President of External Affairs. From February 2017 to July 2017, he served as a Research Assistant at Berkeley RISE Lab. From August 2017 to December 2017, he worked as a software engineer at Facebook, working on applied machine learning. From December 2017 to April 2019, he served as Director of Engineering at Alameda Research. In April 2019, he started working as Director of Engineering at FTX: a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange. In January 2022, he started working as an electrical engineer at Steath.
FTX Engineering Director
Nishad Singh has known Gabe Bankman-Fried, Sam Bankman-Fried’s younger brother, since high school. In May 2019, Sam Bankman-Fried founded FTX (abbreviation for Future Exchange). Nishad became the engineering director of FTX. Sam set up a headquarters in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. Nishad Singh lives with Sam and Nishad in a mansion. Other company employees, called the inner circle. Previously, Sam founded Alameda Research quantitative trading company in September 2017. FTX competes with Binance Cryptocurrency Company and has risen rapidly. Leading market research firms reported in September 2022 that the majority of Alameda Research’s assets are in FTT and that FTX is transferring up to $10 billion to Alameda Research. Additionally, in 2022, Sam had a conversation on Twitter with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao about his cryptocurrency. In October 2022, FTX attempted to raise capital; however, it failed. On November 7, 2022, Zhao tweeted that he was selling his FTT shares, causing the price and stock price of FTX to fall. On November 10, 2022, the Bahamas Securities Commission froze the assets of FTX subsidiary FTX Digital, and Japan and Australia suspended the company’s operations in their respective countries. On November 11, 2022, Sam resigned as CEO and FTX filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.
Press release pic.twitter.com/rgxq3QSBqm
— FTX (@FTX_Official) November 11, 2022
On November 12, 2022, Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison reportedly told other Alameda employees that she, along with Sam, Gary and Nishad, were aware that client funds were being transferred to Alameda. Nishad, along with Sam and Gary, controls the code, the company’s matching engine, and funding. On November 14, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force began a criminal investigation into FTX, and the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission began investigations into FTX’s handling of funds. After the company filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022, no transactions were allowed on the website. Nishad is reportedly in the custody of local legal authorities and is looking for ways to escape to Dubai as Dubai does not have any extradition treaty with the United States. There are also rumors that the Ukrainian government used the aid provided by the US government to purchase FTT with FTX, and Nishad and Sam then donated the money to the Democrats; but this was rejected by Alex Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. He tweeted,
Favorites
- Book: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
- Quote: “Age is a matter of mind, not matter – and if you don’t mind, that’s okay.”
Facts/Trivia
- He holds the world record for the fastest ultramarathon completed by a runner under the age of 17. In November 2012, he gave a TED talk at TEDxYouth@MtDiablo about his ultramarathon training experience.
- He ran the Ruth Anderson Ultra 50km (USA) in 2010 and 2012, the Quicksilver 50km Endurance Run (USA) in 2010 and 2013, the Ruth Anderson Ultra 50mi – 50km Split (USA) in 2011, and the Ohlone in 2011 50K Wilderness Run (USA), 2011 and 2012 Run-de-Vous 100 Mile Endurance Run (USA), 2011 Ruth Anderson Ultra 50mi – 50km Split (USA), 2011 and 2012 Run-de-Vous 100 Mile Endurance running (USA).
Nishad Singh (red) and friends after completing 100-mile run
- In 2022, Nishad Singh donated a total of $7.9 million to Democratic Candidates PAC. Those committees include Women Vote!, Mind the Gap — a group led by Stanford University academics that uses Silicon Valley money to support Democratic candidates — and the Senate Majority PAC. In August 2022, he donated $1.1 million to the LGBTQ Victory Fund federal political action committee and further contributed to state Sen. Becca Balint, who is running for Vermont’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. After donating, he said:
I’m very excited about Balint because she is a strong supporter of pandemic preparedness. Victory PAC wants to support Balint through independent spending, and I want to empower them to do so. My contribution here is personal and independent of my role at FTX. ”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education