In an interview conducted by Tiffany Fong just revealed, Sam Bankman-Fried, the ex-CEO of FTX, makes numerous revelations concerning the bankruptcy of the exchange, his various donations to political parties and the hack of the platform. He also assures that if FTX was not bankrupt, the exchange would operate normally and users could even withdraw their funds normally.
Sam Bankman-Fried interview surfaces
Reporter Tiffany Fongspecializing in the cryptocurrency community, has just unveiled 2 post-bankruptcy audio documents in which she questions Sam Bankman-Fried on some critical points relating to the collapse of FTX.
The ex-CEO of FTX specifies from the outset that he chose to carry out an interview with a relatively unknown journalist on his own, specifying that he ” started to trust his instincts for this stuff “and that in this way the question would be addressed” from a point of view that is at least somewhat neutral and interested “.
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The first recording, dated November 16 and posted November 29 on YouTube, notably addresses the issue of a backdoor implemented in FTX’s accounting system, a possibility first revealed by FTX’s legal teams themselves on November 12. What SBF continues to deny, arguing that he wouldn’t even know how to go about it :
“And that’s something I would do?” […] This, I can tell you, is absolutely not true. I don’t even know how to code. […] I literally never opened the code for anything related to FTX. »
Sam Bankman-Fried also spoke about the preferential treatment received by Bahamian residents when FTX stopped withdrawals on its platform while keeping them open exclusively for the inhabitants of the archipelago :
“You don’t want to be in a country where there are a lot of angry people and you don’t want your company to be incorporated in a country where there are a lot of angry people. So we have tried to create a regulatory pathway for the exchange to appease the citizens of the country we are currently in. »
A point which remains rather vague, however, since at that time FTX had declared that this measure had been taken in order to comply with the demands of Bahamian regulatorswhich the latter denied and what SBF also denied during the interview.
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Focus on political donations
Known for being an avid donor to the Democratic Party in the United States (SBF was notably the second largest donor to Joe Biden’s last presidential campaign), the ex-CEO of FTX reveals having made donations of the same order of magnitude to the Republican Party.
According to him, these donations have been concealed so as not to offend journalists ” secretly liberal “, and that he did not want “ have this fight “, before concluding that ” journalists freak out if you give to republicans “.
When asked if he thinks FTX would still be around if Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao hadn’t highlighted CoinDesk’s revelations of FTX’s insolvency at the time, SBF remains in the dark. the doubt :
“I think things would definitely be a lot more stable and a lot more able to generate cash, but there would still be too much slack in the system. I think it’s a little 50-50. »
Finally, Sam Bankman-Fried said he felt “particularly bad” about people who believed in him, and that his future was uncertain :
“I don’t know what the future holds for me, it’s quite vague and it’s certainly not the future I thought I would have one day. »
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FTX Refunds, Hack and Bankruptcy
Regarding the bankruptcy of FTX under Chapter 11 of the United States, Sam Bankman-Fried expressed significant regrets on this subject, even claiming that the exchange could have been saved :
“I sincerely believe that if I hadn’t filed for bankruptcy, all users would be safe and withdrawals would be made on FTX right now. […] 8 minutes after I filed for bankruptcy, another $4 billion arrived in cash. »
About the famous hack, which took place the day after FTX declared bankruptcy and SBF left as CEO, the latter ensures that an employee is responsible for the leakage of funds :
“He was a former employee, or someone had installed malware on a former employee’s computer. »
And finally, concerning a possible reimbursement of users, the news is rather gloomy for users located outside the United Statesif we are to believe the words of Sam Bankman-Fried:
“If nothing happens, if I can never do anything again, FTX US will get a dollar on a dollar, FTX will get 25 cents on a dollar. »
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Sources: Interview of November 16, undated interview (post-bankruptcy)
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Passionate about the world of decentralized finance and the novelties brought by Web 3.0, I write articles for Cryptoast to help make blockchain more accessible to everyone. Convinced that cryptocurrencies will change the future very soon.
Maximilien Prue
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