Following the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been interviewed for the first time, where he denies any wrongdoing.
According to SBF, contrary to public allegations, he did not have backdoor access to FTX, where he manipulated accounts, he said in an interview with YouTuber Tiffany Fong published on November 29.
At the same time, SBF acknowledged he was wrong on the handling of Alameda’s balance sheet, noting that the situation was ‘a poorly labeled accounting thing’.
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“I certainly wasn’t like building some back door in this system. I could barely use the system. <…> I knew this system from a user interface perspective. <…> I was incorrect on Alameda’s balances on FTX by a fairly large number and embarrassingly large new one, and it was because of a very poorly labelled accounting thing,” he said.
SBF on FTX collapse cause
Interestingly, SBF claimed that the FTX collapse was not caused by the reported liquidity crunch but by what he termed as a ‘massive correlation of things during a free market moves.’
“Liquidity wasn’t what caused that crash. What caused the crash was something else which is very embarrassing that I underestimated, which is the massive correlation of things during a free market moves, especially when they’re triggered by peer over the position itself and the massive size of those moves,” he added.
Fight with lawyers
Bankman-Fried stated that his lawyers were against him taking full responsibility for the collapse. During the interview, he claimed lawyers disapproved of the approach of making public posts. It is worth noting that SBF constantly posted on Twitter after the collapse to update customers on the situation’s progress.
Notably, following the FTX collapse, regulators have been calling for consumer protection, with Sam Bankman-Fried facing a pile of legal woes.
As reported by Finbold, the FTX founder and the exchange’s promoters have been sued in an $11 billion class action. According to the lawsuit filed before a Florida court, FTX is accused of violating yield-bearing crypto accounts associated with the exchange.
Indeed, there are increased calls to have Bankman-Fried extradited to the United States and face charges over his role in the collapse.
Furthermore, investors and customers who used the exchange are awaiting a possible way forward regarding any chances of compensation.
Watch the full interview below:
