FTX founder: I am responsible for the bankruptcy of the company. I am willing to start a new company to make up for the loss of users
Dec 12, 2022| FTX, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency platform, recently declared bankruptcy. Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive and founder of the company at the center of the storm, said he wanted to start a new business. In an interview published on Saturday, Mr. Bankman-fried, 30, said he hoped to start a new company to recoup investors' losses from FTX's collapse. He also said he would "give anything" to start a new venture.
"I'm going to think about how I can help the world, and if users aren't getting much in return, I'm going to think about what I can do for them," Bankman-Fried said. "I think I owe it to FTX users, at the very least, to do the right thing as best I can."
Asked if he was prepared for the possibility of arrest, Bankman-Fried said: "Yes, there is always a period of reflection every night. But when I get up during the day, I try to stay focused, work as efficiently as possible and ignore things I can't control."
Last month FTX exploded because of a customer run. A growing number of clients had begun to doubt the financial strength of FTX and its affiliate, Alameda Research, and were trying to extract all their assets on the platform at once.
Since declaring bankruptcy, FTX's new management has called platform management "a classic example of a complete failure of corporate control".
Mr. Bankman-fried has said he took responsibility for the company's collapse and that he failed to grasp the risks FTX and Alameda were taking on the two businesses.
One of the allegations against Mr. Bankman-fried is that he arranged for Alameda to invest in other markets with clients' assets on the FTX platform. Bankman-fried has said in public interviews that he did not "intentionally" mix client assets with Alameda's investments.
Mr. Bankman-fried tweeted on Friday that he was willing to appear before Congress next week, but that he would be limited in what he could say and "won't be as helpful as he would like." Bankman-fried is currently in the Bahamas.
