FTX collateral value nosedives to $8 bn from $60 billion
Beleaguered crypto exchange secured $420 mn in Oct 2021; Bankman-Fried pocketed $300 mn after a big funding raise last year, claims a report
image for illustrative purpose
San Francisco: Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and trading house Alameda Research, froze up in the face of pressure as his company collapsed, bringing its collateral down to $8 billion from $60 billion.
In a letter to FTX employees, accessed by CoinDesk, the former CEO apologised to them, saying "he is deeply sorry about what happened."
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen, and I would give anything to be able to go back and do things over again. You were my family," he wrote in the letter.
"I've lost that, and our old home is an empty warehouse of monitors. When I turn around, there's no one left to talk to," SBF added.
According to Bankman-Fried, FTX had around $60 billion in collateral and $2 billion in liabilities this spring, but a market crash meant the collateral's value was halved.
"I froze up in the face of pressure and leaks and the Binance (letter of intent to purchase FTX) and said nothing," he said.
FTX filed for bankruptcy due to an extreme amount of co-ordinated pressure, which Bankman-Fried said he agreed to reluctantly.
According to an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal, the beleaguered crypto exchange secured $420 million in October 2021. Bankman-Fried pocketed $300 million after a big funding raise last year, the report claimed.
