Sam Bankman-Fried explains FTX's collapse
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, told Mother Jones that the platform's collapse was caused by the transfer of control to new management.
According to Sam Bankman-Fried, the decision to transfer control to new CEO John J. Ray III on November 11, 2022, deprived the businessman of his last chance to save the company.
“Literally a few minutes after signing the exchange transfer documents, I received a call offering outside investment. The company, although in critical condition, could have avoided collapse under certain circumstances. However, it was too late,” Bankman-Fried tried to deflect suspicion from himself.
The former head of FTX said that important management decisions at the exchange were made under pressure from regulators and creditors. A significant portion of the financial problems could have been resolved if he had had more time to negotiate, the entrepreneur added.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12, 2022, after being charged by US authorities. In January 2023, he was extradited to the US for trial. In late March 2024, a New York court found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of stealing clients' funds for his own use and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
FTX began refunding clients in February 2025, distributing approximately $1.2 billion. An additional $5 billion followed in May. On September 30, FTX sent a third round of $1.6 billion in payments to affected users. The exchange promises to refund 98% of its clients, or 118% of the amounts they held in their accounts before the platform collapsed three years ago.
Sam Bankman-Fried previously announced that FTX had sufficient assets to fully reimburse clients' losses. This was prevented, the businessman lamented, by intervention by US authorities.
Источник: cryptocurrency.tech
