Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Interviewed

W

hile speaking at the Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, Sam Bankman-Fried expressed remorse for his exchange's failure but held firm to the narrative that it was simply a gamble that didn't pay off.

The much-awaited Wednesday interview with The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin didn't satisfy many people's questions, nor did it provide the apology that many have desired to hear from the 30-year-old former crypto billionaire.

Even though his lawyers advised against it, Bankman-Fried defended himself online from accusations that he deliberately caused FTX's crash. He claimed the fall was an accident and that he had not done anything illegal on purpose. Bankman-Fried joined the conversation form his home in the Bahamas.

“I didn’t ever try to commit fraud,” Bankman-Fried said.

Bankman-Fried stated that he began to feel anxious after the CoinDesk article was published on Nov. 2, but he "didn't think it was a make-or-break situation for FTX."

One theory is that Bankman-Fried wrongly moved those funds between the FTX exchange and Alameda, which lost them through a series of unsuccessful trades. When Sorkin questioned him multiple times on whether he took customer deposits without permission and lent them to Alameda, Bankman-Fried claimed he “didn’t knowingly commingle funds.”

Bankman-Fried said that an accounting mistake was to blame, explaining there was a “substantial discrepancy” between the company’s legitimate audited financials and the false figures displayed on the exchange’s dashboards. Adding that he was surprised, Bankman-Fried went on to say…

Bankman-Fried stated that the connection between Alameda and FTX has decreased over time.

Mike

An editor at Coincrop

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Mike is a Coincrop staff writer based in the UK, covering the best rates for cryptocurrency earning and borrowing products. When not at work, he's likely putting his latest car project back together.