The collapse of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges affected every single person in the cryptocurrency world.
Undoubtedly the most important cryptocurrency moment of 2022 (topping Ethereum’s merge), FTX’s bankruptcy not only brought the entire market down but also affected several other exchanges. So far, BlockFi also filed for bankruptcy, while U.S. crypto broker “Genesis” appears to be on its way to suffering the same fate.
According to recent reports, the exchange’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried also suffered substantial losses during this series of events.
Up until recently, SBF boasted the life of one of the crypto “rock-stars”. He had a personal net worth of over $25 billion dollars, and was seen as some kind of “crypto genius”, and seeing him in sports events accompanied by celebrities was not uncommon.
Interview on Current Networth
However, in a recent interview with Axios, SBF revealed that he only had $100 thousand left in his bank account, the last time he checked.
Unfortunately for him, SBF kept the vast majority of his net worth attached to FTX’s assets. Meaning that then the FTT token plummeted — his wealth went down the drain with it.
As soon as the collapse started, reports indicated that SBF’s net worth had gone down so much that he couldn’t be considered a billionaire anymore.
“I wish I’d been more careful… I obviously deeply regret this. I’ve been focusing on volume, rather than positions for balances,” SBF told Axios. “I should have been more responsible, and I should have been more on top of what was going on.”
Sam Bankman-Fried Apologizes Again
An apology is the first step in order to make a bad situation better. But after causing a major economic crash, plundering billions of assets, and causing financial damages to over 5 million customers… is an apology enough?
Despite the obvious answer, SBF continues on his apology tour. The former billionaire claimed that he never intended on causing so much damage.
“There are things I would do anything to do over again,” Bankman-Fried said in a virtual conference with the New York Times. “I was shocked by what happened.”
When asked if FTX misappropriated customer funds in order to cover loans for his hedge fund, Alameda Research, he claimed that he “didn’t knowingly commingle funds,” and that he was “surprised by how big Alameda’s position was.”
However, when it comes to fraud investigations, a simple apology might not be enough. On November 29, the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) scheduled and hearing with SBF, accusing his former company of securities violations in the State of Texas.
On top of it, authorities in the Bahamas are also preparing for an investigation on the former multi-billionaire.
When asked if he is apprehensive about the potential of going to prison, SBF claims that his main goal right now is to explain to investors what happened during the FTX collapse.
However, that mindset could change in the future, as the former head of FTX will undoubtedly go through serious investigations that could result in a lengthy sentence for the 30-year-old.
