The popularity of cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX rose rapidly after it was launched in 2019. However, FTX came crashing down in November 2022.

Cryptocurrency has become popular for investments and sending payments to other people and merchants. Cryptocurrencies differ from other digital currencies because they are encrypted and use blockchain technology to track transactions.

Cryptocurrency coins quickly increased in value, such as the Shiba Inu coin's 45 million percent increase in 2021.

One way to get cryptocurrency is to open an account on a digital trading platform, which lets people buy one coin and trade for another. Through the trading platform, people can also convert cryptocurrency into cash or fiat currency.

Until late 2022, FTX was one of these trading platforms. Sam Bankman-Fried started FTX in 2019. Customers began opening accounts on FTX to trade and buy cryptocurrency, and top venture capital investors started pouring in. By January 2022, the company was worth $32 billion.

However, that came to an end in November 2022. What first appeared to be an accounting oversight turned out to be major fraud, and billions of dollars were lost by customers and investors. It was discovered that customer funds went to accounts controlled by Alameda Research -- a cryptocurrency trading firm headquartered in Hong Kong -- instead of FTX. After this revelation, FTX began to unravel.