Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, has expressed deep remorse for his decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, referring to it as his “greatest mistake.” In an extensive interview with Vox, which was released on November 16, Bankman-Fried addressed various topics including the bankruptcy filing, his views on regulators and ethics, the actions of FTX and Alameda with customer funds, and the FTX hack.
Screenshots of a Twitter conversation between Vox reporter Kelsey Piper and Sam Bankman-Fried reveal that the former FTX CEO acknowledged making multiple errors, but identified listening to others and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as his biggest blunder. Bankman-Fried stated, “I made significant mistakes, but do you know what was perhaps my most significant blunder?”
Bankman-Fried believes that if he had not filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, “around 70% of the issues would have been resolved by now,” and that withdrawals would have been available to customers within a month, ensuring full restitution. He added:
After admitting to a “liquidity crisis” on November 8, Bankman-Fried reportedly sought $8 billion in emergency funding from investors to cover the shortfall, even offering his personal wealth to “make customers and investors whole.” When asked about his plans moving forward, Bankman-Fried expressed confidence in securing the $8 billion within two weeks, stating that it was “essentially the only thing that matters for the rest of my life.”
However, on November 16, FTX CEO and chief restructuring officer John Ray clarified that Bankman-Fried “has no ongoing role at FTX, FTX US, or Alameda Research Ltd. and does not speak on their behalf.”
Regarding other topics discussed in the interview, Bankman-Fried admitted that his advocacy for regulations was merely a public relations tactic, but later retracted this statement in a tweet on November 16, stating:
Bankman-Fried also confirmed that the funds withdrawn from FTX were indeed part of a hack, suggesting that it may have been carried out by a former employee or through malware on a former employee’s computer. The former CEO reiterated his previous claim, which he later deleted, that FTX had never invested clients’ assets, asserting that this statement was “factually accurate” as Alameda was responsible for investing the funds.
Cointelegraph has attempted to contact Sam Bankman-Fried for further comment but has not received a response at the time of publication.