The man at the centre of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX made his first public appearance since the saga began, telling a New York audience on Wednesday that it was never his intention to commit fraud.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old founder of FTX, appeared at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, for an interview with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin about what happened to cause his cryptocurrency firm to collapse into bankruptcy earlier this month.
The firm, once worth more than $32 billion US, entered into bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11 after rumours of liquidity problems prompted a run on the bank.
Filings show the company owes almost $10 billion to various creditors, and billions more worth of customer deposits are missing.
Among numerous allegations, customer deposits at FTX appear to have been used as capital and collateral for loans for Bankman-Fried's personal investment firm, Alameda — an allegation that amounts to fraud, and one that he pushed back against strongly.
FTX founder 'deeply sorry'
"I didn't ever try to commit fraud on anyone," he told Sorkin. "I didn't knowingly co-mingle funds."
While he acknowledged mistakes were made, Bankman-Fried rejected repeated attempts to characterize what happened at his cryptocurrency firm as being in any way malicious or illegal.
"I am deeply sorry about what happened," he said. "I was shocked by what happened this month."
Bankman-Fried has been active on Twitter since the debacle began, but his appearance on Wednesday marks his first public appearance since the saga began.
There was speculation he was going to appear in person, but ultimately he appeared via video link from the Bahamas, where he lives.
Numerous regulatory agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice and investment regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating what happened at the company, the collapse of which has prompted a broader sell-off in other cryptocurrency assets.
More to come
