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Sam Bankman-Fried, of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has admitted he made mistakes as CEO of the company.
He also said that it was not his intention and that he was not trying to cheat anyone.
The former FTX CEO appeared via video at the New York Times DealBook Summit in New York.
“There are things I would do anything to do over again,” said SBF.
“I was shocked by what happened this month.”
Collapse
In early November, Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO of FTX after filing for bankruptcy with dozens of its affiliates.
Clients from all over the world have been rushing to recover billions of funds deposited on the platform.
Almost overnight, SBF’s multibillion-dollar personal wealth disappeared.
Additionally, crypto firms with financial exposure to FTX have started to nod off.
One of the questions surrounding the FTX founder is whether the platform embezzled client funds while lending to his hedge fund, Alameda.
“I didn’t knowingly commingle funds,” SBF said.
“I was frankly surprised by how big Alameda’s position was.”
Failure
The crypto exchange platform experienced a bank rush in early November.
However, it quickly collapsed during a liquidity crisis.
“Look, I screwed up,” admitted SBF. “I was CEO of FTX… I had a responsibility.”
Sam Bankman-Fried acknowledged that FTX lacked corporate controls and risk management for the companies he oversaw.
In bankruptcy filings, FTX’s new CEO described the matter as “a complete failure.”
“There was no other person who was chiefly in charge of positional risk of customers on FTX,” said Bankman-Fried.
“And that feels pretty embarrassing in retrospect.”
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The companies
It is unclear how much FTX customers will recover during the restructuring.
Sam Bankman-Fried hinted that US and Japanese clients could be healthy, but he didn’t provide details on how.
Additionally, his previous statements about the state of the companies are under scrutiny as his lack of oversight comes to light.
Early in the liquidity crunch, SBF tweeted that its FTX business was doing well and said it had enough to cover client interest.
However, he deleted the tweet within a day, trying to orchestrate a bailout plan that fell apart.
SBF’s admission that he had no supervision raised questions about his knowledge.
Investigations
FTX is under investigation by federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York after the crash.
In addition, authorities in the Bahamas, where the companies are based, are also investigating the matter, according to a person familiar with the case.
Financial regulators are collaborating with the company’s new management.
The team is led by restructuring specialists who are guiding FTX through bankruptcy.
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SBF
Sam Bankman-Fried’s appearance at the DealBook summit comes weeks after he issued multiple public apologies.
Unfortunately, the apology took the press by surprise.
During his interview on Wednesday, SBF was asked if his lawyers encouraged him to speak out.
“They’re very much not,” he replied.
“And I mean, you know the classic advice, right? ‘Don’t say anything, you know, recede into a hole.'”
“I have a duty to explain what happened,” added SBF.
“I don’t see what good is accomplished by me just sitting locked in a room pretending the outside world doesn’t exist.”
The former FTX CEO was also asked about his personal net worth, estimated at $26 billion at his peak.
According to SBF, he had given everything to FTX and estimates he only has $100,000 in his bank account.
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