Former FTX chief operating officer Constance Wang criticised Netflix’s trailer for an FTX collapse drama. She said key figures in the real case were portrayed differently from her experience. With the release of a production about the FTX saga approaching, attention is focusing on the gap between an insider’s view and its on-screen recreation.

Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Oct. 20 local time that Wang recently appeared on the Chain Reaction X Spaces show and expressed displeasure over Netflix’s trailer for the drama “The Altruists.”

After watching the trailer, Wang said, “I was angry within the first 30 seconds, so I stopped watching.” She described some portrayals of former FTX executives as making her feel “physically uncomfortable.”

Wang in particular said the depiction of former Alameda Research chief executive Caroline Ellison differed from what she experienced in real life. She also said that, unlike the image drawn by the drama, FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was “more socially awkward” in reality.

Netflix released the trailer for the eight-part drama “The Altruists,” which covers the FTX collapse, earlier this month. The series is scheduled for worldwide release on Nov. 19.

FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after misuse of customer funds surfaced. It had grown into one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, but the bankruptcy process revealed a shortfall of about $8.9 billion in customer funds. Alameda Research was investigated over allegations that Bankman-Fried transferred customer funds to cover trading losses. The funding gap, known as the “Alameda gap,” remained a central issue in the FTX collapse.

Legal proceedings involving people tied to the case also continued. Ellison and Bankman-Fried were indicted in December 2022. Under a plea agreement, Ellison testified at Bankman-Fried’s trial, served 440 days after being sentenced to two years in prison, and was released in January this year. Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven felony charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024. His expected release date is 2044.

Bankman-Fried’s side continued legal action in opposition to the guilty verdict. The legal team was reported to have asked the federal Supreme Court in September to overturn the fraud conviction. It has also applied to U.S. President Donald Trump for a pardon.

Wang started a new business after the FTX collapse. She founded crypto trading platform Pacifica in early 2025. Pacifica initially launched as a Solana-based perpetual futures decentralised exchange, and Wang said she plans to develop it into an intelligent trading infrastructure by adding artificial intelligence functions to provide investment strategy tools.

On fundraising, she emphasised that the business is being run without outside investment. “Pacifica did not take external investment and is operated entirely on our own,” Wang said. She added that during the FTX bankruptcy process some institutional investors had difficulty contacting former FTX personnel because of compliance constraints.

The controversy, separate from questions of legal responsibility for the FTX collapse, raises the issue of how far creators can dramatise people’s personalities and actions when reconstructing real events for film and television. With “The Altruists” set for release in November, attention is focusing on how the memories of those involved in the FTX saga will intersect with the narrative the drama presents.