Sam Bankman-Fried (30) founded crypto exchange FTX and put it against the wall. “I’ve never tried to scam anyone.” The 30-year-old US entrepreneur said Wednesday at a conference in New York (local time).
“I saw this as a thriving business and was shocked by what happened this month,” said Bankman-Fried, speaking from the Bahamas, where the trading platform for digital currencies like Bitcoin is based.
“We totally failed”
In retrospect, he is ashamed. “We completely failed,” said Bankman-Fried, referring to the crypto company’s billions of dollars in risks.
FTX, one of the largest trading platforms for cryptocurrencies, collapsed about three weeks ago after a massive outflow of funds in a matter of days. Billions of client funds could not be paid. Bankman-Fried, often referred to as simply SBF in the crypto industry, announced his resignation on November 11 and filed for bankruptcy for the group in the US state of Delaware.
The new boss speaks of a complete failure
New FTX boss John Ray, who was at the head of the bankruptcy case, harshly criticized his predecessor: “Never in my career have I experienced such a complete failure of corporate control and such a lack of reliable financial information.”
Investigations and class action lawsuits against Bankman-Fried continue in the United States. He claims FTX has enough money to pay customers there. “The US platform can be completely dissolved,” he said on Wednesday.
Caribbean exile with his last $100,000
When asked why he is still in the Bahamas and still dare to go to the US due to the dangerous legal situation, Bankman-Fried said he simply lived on the Caribbean island last year. After FTX collapsed, not much was left of his own fortune.
He has a single bank account with about $100,000 in it. Before the bankruptcy, Forbes and Bloomberg valued their assets at times over $26 billion. (SDA)