Sam Bankman-Fried earned a reputation as the saviour of the crypto industry when he bailed out two platforms earlier this year.
But when FTX, the exchange he co-founded and led until Friday, needed a lifeline, none was forthcoming.
Until this week, the 30-year-old American was seen as a darling in digital assets who amassed billions in personal wealth by running one of the world's largest crypto platforms.
But as traders rushed to withdraw funds from FTX, Mr Bankman-Fried was in denial and told investors he was convinced the business would be rescued, according to a source familiar with the situation.
By Friday, FTX had filed for bankruptcy. He apologised, repeatedly.
"Nobody was saying that anything was wrong with SBF," said Marius Ciubotariu, co-founder of the Hubble protocol, a decentralised lending platform.
The company's collapse caught markets by surprise because Mr Bankman-Fried was seen as a business-savvy founder adept at striking deals, he said.
Known in financial circles by his initials, SBF, Mr Bankman-Fried had become a prominent and unconventional figure in the industry.
He sported his signature wild hair, t-shirts and shorts on panel appearances with statesmen like former US President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
The crypto wunderkind started his career at Jane Street Capital, a choice he has said was influenced by a desire to make money to pursue his interest in effective altruism, a movement that encourages people to prioritise donations to charities.
He amassed a fortune, estimated as high as $26.5 billion by Forbes a year ago, by taking advantage of the price differences in Bitcoin in Asia and the United States.
Mr Bankman-Fried eventually started crypto trading company Alameda Research in 2017 and founded FTX a year later. It was valued in January at $32bn.
FTX's meltdown sent Bitcoin plunging to a two-year low this week amid concern that the company's woes will spread to other crypto companies.
Employees were blindsided by its collapse, with some sending apologetic notes to clients expressing shock at what had happened, according to a person familiar with the matter.
FTX appointed John J. Ray III, a restructuring expert, as chief executive on Friday. He oversaw the liquidation of Enron, the energy trading company that collapsed in scandal and bankruptcy in 2001.
"A lot of people have compared this to Lehman — I would compare it to Enron," said former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
For all his recent celebrity endorsements, notoriety and big-name backers, Mr Bankman-Fried was not confident about FTX's prospects back in its early days.
"I thought we would fail," Mr Bankman-Fried said at a June conference weeks before FTX and Alameda extended lifelines to two struggling crypto platforms.
"I thought we would fail because no one would ever use it."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
The years Ramadan fell in May
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Scoreline
Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3
- Agüero 18'
- Kompany 58'
- Silva 65'
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E299hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E420Nm%20at%202%2C750rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12.4L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh157%2C395%20(XLS)%3B%20Dh199%2C395%20(Limited)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
