The founder and former CEO of FTX, a bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, has expressed his desire to start a new venture in order to repay the customers he owes money to. In an interview with the BBC on December 10th, Sam Bankman-Fried stated, “I would give anything to be able to do that. And I’m going to try if I can.” He emphasized his commitment to helping FTX users and acknowledged his duty to do right by them.
According to bankruptcy filings from November 14th, Bankman-Fried’s exchange has over one million creditors. Estimates of the potential losses incurred by FTX range from $10 billion to $50 billion. Bankman-Fried reiterated his claim that he did not knowingly commit fraud and expressed a lack of self-awareness, admitting that he was not as competent as he believed.
In the midst of a back-and-forth exchange between United States House Representative Maxine Waters and Bankman-Fried, it has been confirmed that the FTX founder will be a witness at a hearing with the House Committee on Financial Services on December 13th. The hearing, titled “Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I,” will also feature John Ray, the new CEO of FTX, as a witness.
Bankman-Fried has controversially missed the deadline to confirm his appearance at a Senate Committee hearing on FTX’s collapse, scheduled for December 14th. A letter from Committee Chair Sherrod Brown on December 7th warned Bankman-Fried that a subpoena may be issued to compel his testimony. Despite his absence from the Senate hearing, Bankman-Fried’s presence at the House hearing has been confirmed, and Senator Pat Toomey expects him to appear at the Senate hearing the following day.