After his company collapsed, a crypto entrepreneur claims that his net worth plummeted from $26bn down to $100,000
Sam Bankman-Fried acknowledged that it was a bad month after FTX went under. This resulted in thousands of people losing their savings.
The 30-year old, once seen as a savior for struggling firms, was accused of using customer funds to move $10bn from the company in secret.
Reports suggest that at least $1bn has vanished.
At the New York Times’ DealBook summit Mr Bankman-Fried stated that he had never attempted to commit fraud, and was shocked at how the crisis developed.
FTX’s new management is in place as it faces bankruptcy. The chief executive of FTX stated that he has never witnessed “such a complete failure in corporate controls” in his 40-year career.
According to some reports, funds belonging to FTX users were allegedly mixed with funds from Alameda Research, a trading company that Mr Bankman Fried also managed.
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, was shut down by panicked traders who pulled $6bn from the company within three days of hearing a number of bombshell claims.
Video link from the Bahamas: Mr Bankman-Fried stated that he has now “close to nothing” following the failure of his company and is currently only able to use one credit card.
He admitted that his business was “completely failing” in risk management, and said it was “pretty embarrassing in retrospect”.
“Whatever happened, how it happened, I had to do right by our stakeholders, our clients, and the regulators of this world,” Mr Bankman Fried added.
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The embattled entrepreneur believes American users should be able get their money back in full. However, he has also warned that international customers might only receive 20% to 25% of the money that they had locked into FTX.
Numerous companies operating in the cryptocurrency industry have been forced to close in recent months. This coincides with a sharp fall in Bitcoin’s value.
Some businesses were accused of promising savings interest rates that were too good to be true. Others have been compared to Ponzi schemes.
The Bahamas is now conducting a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding FTX’s death.
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