According to more than 250 documents sent to the media, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, said he feels like “one of the most hated people in the world.” The former CEO of the now-defunct crypto exchange further noted in his statements that “there will probably never be anything I can do to make my lifetime impact net positive.”
Behind the Fall of FTX: Bankman-Fried’s Private Documents Point Fingers
While under house arrest, Sam Bankman-Fried shared 250 pages of documents with journalist Tiffany Fong, who then provided some of the materials to The New York Times. In one specific X thread that Bankman-Fried never published, he said, “The truth is that I did what I thought was right,” but he didn’t believe there was any way he could change the public’s perception of him. Fong explained that Bankman-Fried shared the documents with her because she is an independent reporter and doesn’t “work for anyone.”
According to The Times’ report, Bankman-Fried places a great deal of blame on his former lover, Caroline Ellison, for the collapse. He reportedly said she wasn’t fit to run Alameda Research and claims she cried during a meeting with him. In a specific document titled “Alameda’s Failure to Hedge,” Bankman-Fried wrote:
She continually avoided talking about risk management — dodging my suggestions — until it was too late. Every time that I reached out with suggestions, it just made her feel worse. I’m sure that being exes didn’t help.
Alameda’s former CEO, Sam Trabucco, also faced criticism. In one memo, Bankman-Fried asserted that in 2021, Trabucco “was in the process of quiet quitting.” He also allegedly mentioned that Trabucco enjoyed “going on dates with a ton of guys while sailing around the world on a boat.” Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ, was referenced in a note about a memory from 2019. However, much of the blame appears to center on Alameda’s hedging techniques, and Bankman-Fried believes if Alameda had hedged correctly, the problems wouldn’t have occurred.
“If Alameda had hedged, it would have remained solvent and prevented the entire unhappy story,” Bankman-Fried wrote.
What do you think about Bankman-Fried’s writings? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.