Sam Bankman-Fried lashes out on Twitter after FTX collapse

In the wake of FTX’s collapse, the exchange’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) continues to broadcasting questionable messages on Twitter. In a cryptic thread, the embattled former CEO claimed that FTX’s U.S. branch had enough funds to pay off all customers. As part of his seemingly incoherent rant, he seemed to decrypt himself by adding “not everyone agrees“.

12) To the best of my knowledge, as of post-11/7, with the potential for errors:

a) Alameda had more assets than liabilities M2M (but not liquid!)
b) Alameda had margin position on FTX Intl
c) FTX US had enough to repay all customers

Not everyone necessarily agrees with this

– SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 15, 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Twitter rant

Sam Bankman-Fried, who also hinted that his memory may be compromised, said at a press briefing that he “could be worse“. According to the former billionaire, he was simply improvising the series of cryptic tweets he posted over the past two days. In a more recent Twitter feed update, Bankman-Fried also wrote that Alameda Research had more assets than liabilities. However, the former FTX boss clarified that Alameda’s assets were not liquid. In addition, he said FTX’s margin position was much larger than he initially thought, amounting to billions of dollars.

Bankman-Fried reflects on “mistakes” made at FTX

The former FTX CEO revealed that he spent his time playing Storybook Brawl video games to relax and clear his head. Declining to discuss the prospect of jail time, Bankman-Fried admitted that he wished he had made fewer commitments when he was at the helm of FTX. According to him, “the company’s affairs were probably not really worth the attention they required“.

The former FTX CEO also said he was working constructively with regulators and bankruptcy officials to address consumer needs. As SBF put it, “My goal-my only goal-is to serve customers well. And after that, the investors. But first, the clients“. However, Bankman-Fried did not elaborate on this. In addition, the beleaguered former CEO also declined to comment on his current location.

Although he harbors many regrets about the collapse of FTX, Bankman-Fried was described as “surprisingly calm” in his interview. The former MIT graduate, who also lost most of his fortune in the stock market crash, said he “was sleeping a little bit“. As a result of the company’s implosion, several government agencies in the United States and elsewhere have opened investigative proceedings against FTX. These include the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Department of Justice and the government of the Bahamas, where FTX is headquartered.

FTX Staff

When asked if FTX’s collapse was primarily due to its overreliance on a small group of close colleagues, Bankman-Fried notes:

“Realistically, I don’t think anyone can maintain close contact and close communication with more than 15 people.”

In addition, the 30-year-old investor, whose fortune once peaked at $26 billion, said he no longer has a romantic relationship with Caroline Ellison, who is the CEO of Alameda Research. SBF declined to comment further on the status of their relationship.

After his resignation as CEO of FTX, John J. Ray III succeeded Bankman-Fried.