“I was certainly not nearly as competent as I thought I was,” SBF said regarding the reasons behind FTX’s failure.
The former CEO of crypto exchange FTX – Sam Bankman-Fried – said he is willing to start a new business venture to earn enough funds and pay back victims of the collapse.
He reiterated his position that what happened to the platform was not a fraud but rather a lack of management skills.
In a recent interview for BBC, SBF pledged to do everything he can to restore investors’ losses due to his exchange’s meltdown, including launching a new project that could possibly provide him with the necessary funds:
“I would give anything to be able to do that. And I’m going to try if I can.”
He dismissed the rumors that FTX’s sister company – Alameda Research – was misusing customer funds and that he and other executives facilitated flows of cash and cryptocurrencies between the two entities.
The 30-year-old American reiterated his position that the decay of the trading venue was not a fraud but rather a management mistake:
“I didn’t knowingly commit fraud, I don’t think I committed fraud, I didn’t want any of this to happen. I was certainly not nearly as competent as I thought I was.”
Subsequently, SBF said he is aware that his arrest and possible prison sentence are options on the table. However, he tries to reject such thoughts and concentrate on solutions that could solve the issue:
“There’s some time at night ruminating, yes, but when I get up during the day, I try and focus, be as productive as I can, and ignore things that are out of my control.”
FTX’s catastrophe has been among the leading negative events in crypto so far this year. The organization experienced a liquidity crisis in November and could not honor its clients’ withdrawal requests.
Numerous authorities and prominent individuals urged SBF to shed more light on the crisis and take responsibility for it. The former executive is expected to testify before the US House Committee on Financial Services on December 13.