Sam Bankman‑Fried Says Regretting FTX’s Bankruptcy Was a Huge Blunder
Sam Bankman‑Fried, the infamous founder of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, has publicly expressed deep regret over filing for bankruptcy last week. In a candid chat (now on Vox), he openly slammed regulators and admitted he was pushing his own limits.
Why He Catches His Own Back?
Bankman‑Fried is saying that if he hadn’t opted for Chapter 11, customers might have kept avoiding withdrawals for a whole month, leaving them fully back in the game—something he calls the “real win.”
Regulators, Residents, and the Big Questions
He’s been loudly critical of the officials who, according to him, “don’t protect customers at all.” As FTX tries to navigate the collapse, five new independent directors (plus freshly appointed CEO John J. Ray) are steering the ship.
Inside the Interview
During the Vox interview, the former CEO called the bankruptcy leadership “trying to burn it all to the ground out of shame.” He threw in a sobering admission that raising U.S.$8 billion (S$11 billion) was the only thing that mattered for the rest of his life.
Sam’s Twitter Follow‑Up
Later on Twitter, Bankman‑Fried clarified that the conversation was originally “not intended to be public.” He called his remarks “thoughtless or overly strong” and made it clear he had been venting, not printing a manifesto.
A Little “One‑Liner” Tidbit
- Sam: “It’s really hard to be a regulator. They have an impossible job: to regulate whole industries that grow faster than their mandate allows them to.”
- He added a dash of humor: “They’re like a clown car that never stops expanding.”
Doe & the “Conversation” Claims
Vox says all exchanges were on the record unless both sides agreed otherwise. The reporter was identified, had previous interviews, and even emailed the topic ahead of publication. No objection was raised pre‑post.
Looking Ahead
Though Bankman‑Fried didn’t reply to Reuters immediately, FTX is in touch with an array of global regulators, and Kaplan’s (or should it be, Ray’s?) board is ready to steer it through the storm.
There’s no easy path out of this maze—just the start of a new chapter (pun intended) for crypto enthusiasts and regulators alike.
