FTX files for bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried steps down
Crypto giant FTX files for bankruptcy after $32B collapse: Vegan, T-shirt clad CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, resigns in disgrace in the face of SEC probe as Enron’s liquidator takes over
- FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on Thursday, following a spectacular financial collapse
- The crypto exchange was the world’s fourth largest and recently valued as high as $32 billion
- CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned amid allegations that he mishandled customer funds
- SEC is probing reports that FTX misappropriated customer deposits to pay for risky hedge fund bets
“I’m really sorry, again, that we ended up here,” Bankman-Fried, a former crypto billionaire, said in a Twitter post that went out soon after the filing announcement.
Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old crypto wunderkind known by his initials SBF, is reportedly under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for potential securities law violations.
The collapse of FTX follows a series of rapid developments this week, after:
- FTX was unable to fulfill a run on deposits when customers tried to withdraw $6 billion in 72 hours
- Binance, FTX’s largest rival, backed out of a proposed bailout after finding a ‘black hole’ in the books
- Concerns emerged that FTX was using customer deposits to fund risky bets through an affiliated hedge fund
- Reports suggested FTX and its CEO were under investigation for potential securities law violations
- Binance CEO warned crypto industry was facing a reckoning on the scale of the 2008 crisis
- ‘With FTX going down, we will see cascading effects,’ Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned on Friday
FTX is run a bunch of kids in Bahamas…
Inside the very millennial life of ‘bankrupt’ FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried: Teetotal vegan gamer, 30, who claims to sleep four hours a night on a BEANBAG in his Bahamas penthouse that is also his office (which he shares with nine co-workers)
- Bankman-Fried, 30, is a tee-total vegan who sleeps four hours a night, drives a Toyota Corolla and shuns designer clothes for sneakers and scruffy loungewear
- Nicknamed SBF, he lives in a multimillion-dollar apartment in the Bahamas with nine of his acolytes, including his rumored on-off lover Caroline Ellison, 28
- The son of Stanford graduates, he calls himself an ‘effective altruist’ who wanted to give away most of his now-decimated fortune to good causes
- But collapse of FTX saw 96 percent of his wealth wiped out in a single day – the largest ever one-day drop for a billionaire
For a one-time crypto billionaire who rubs shoulders with A-listers from Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen to Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, departing FTX chief Sam Bank-Fried leads an unassuming lifestyle. Some might even say boring.
Ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former President Bill Clinton were also at Crypto Bahamas. They wore suits while SBF opted for his usual casual-wear of t-shirt, shorts and sneakers
The 30-year-old, nicknamed SBF, is a tee-total vegan who sleeps four hours a night, drives a Toyota Corolla and shuns designer clothes for scruffy loungewear and sneakers.
Fallen crypto golden boy Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, is a vegan gamer who sleeps four hours per night so he can dedicate as much time as possible to work
It’s likely that the only luxury he’ll need to give up following the collapse of FTX is his exclusive penthouse in the tax haven of the Bahamas, which he shares with several of his acolytes… More
His rumored on-off lover, 28-year-old Caroline Ellison, is one of ten FTX and Alameda Research staffers who live in a multimillion-dollar Bahamas penthouse
FTX co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang is also a member of the Bahamas set
FTX Director of Engineering Nishad Singh also lives in the penthouse with Sam Bankman-Fried
Meanwhile, his buddy Binance CEO CZ Zhao says expect Tumultous Tsunami in the crypto world… Is he suggesting Bitcoin will tank to $1 or is he prphocizing Bitcoin will moon to $1M soon?
‘We will see cascading effects’: Binance CEO who backed out of FTX bailout warns crypto industry is facing a reckoning on the scale of the 2008 global financial crisis as rival collapses
- Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao issued the warning in remarks on Friday
- It came shortly before rival crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy
FTX imploded amid concerns it had misappropriated customer deposits - CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as he faces SEC probe in the matter
- Binance considered a bailout, but found the issues at FTX too precarious
- Crisis at crypto exchange FTX sent Bitcoin to a two-year low on Wednesday
Binance’s billionaire boss Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao said: ‘Our hope was to be able to support FTX’s customers to provide liquidity, but the issues are beyond our control or ability to help’
The CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has warned that troubled sector faces ‘cascading effects’ after the implosion of major rival FTX.
Zhao, who this week walked away from a proposed bailout of FTX after deciding the company’s problems ran too deep, agreed when the moderator compared the fiasco to the 2008 financial crisis, saying: ‘I think that’s probably an accurate analogy.’
‘With these type of events happening, its devastating for the industry. A lot of consumer confidence is shaken, and I think basically it sets us back a few years,’ added Zhao.
‘With FTX going down, we will see cascading effects,’ said the Binance CEO. ‘Especially for those close to the FTX ecosystem, they will be negatively affected.’
In another word, it’s Cypto Armmaeggedon… More