Mystery continues to shroud the missing billions at bankrupt crypto exchange FTX after its disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried denied trying to commit fraud. He has admitted to grievous managerial errors.
In his first major public appearance since the November 11 implosion of FTX and sister trading house Alameda Research, Mr Bankman-Fried said he “screwed up” and should have focused more on risk management, customer protection and links between FTX and Alameda.
“I made a lot of mistakes,” the 30-year-old said on Wednesday by video link at the New York Times DealBook Summit.
Watch: what is Bitcoin and how did it start?
“There are things I would give anything to be able to do over again. I didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone.”
Mr Bankman-Fried’s participation was controversial, given that there are outstanding questions about how Bahamas-based FTX ended up with an $8 billion hole in its balance sheet and whether it mishandled customer funds.
Reports that FTX lent client money to Alameda for risky trades have stoked those concerns.
Interviewed by New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, who said Mr Bankman-Fried was joining from the Bahamas, the FTX founder did not give a straight answer about whether he had at times lied.
Mr Bankman-Fried told the summit he “didn’t knowingly commingle funds”.
He said FTX and Alameda were “substantially more” linked than intended and that he failed to pay attention to the trading house’s “too large” margin position.
He said he was not running Alameda and that he was “nervous about a conflict of interest”.
There are things I would give anything to be able to do over again. I didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone
Sam Bankman-Fried,
founder of FTX
No person was in charge of position risk at FTX, he said, describing the lack of oversight as a mistake.
The comments shed little light on the question of where client funds ended up as Mr Bankman-Fried stuck to a hard-to-parse account of how Alameda ran up a massive margin position on the exchange.
The restructuring expert who took over the company in bankruptcy, John J Ray III, has painted a picture of FTX as a mismanaged company bathed in conflicts and lacking basic accounting practices.
He said it was the worst failure of corporate controls he had seen.
Mr Bankman-Fried faces a complex web of lawsuits and regulatory investigations into alleged wrongdoing.
Some observers suggest that his public comments could be used against him in litigation.
The spotlight has also fallen on an apparent company culture of working and playing hard.
Mr Bankman-Fried said there were no wild parties. He said he had been prescribed medicine over time to help with focus and concentration.
The digital asset sector is braced for widening contagion from FTX, which once boasted a $32 billion valuation before sliding into bankruptcy.
It owes its 50 biggest unsecured creditors a total of $3.1 billion and there may be more than a million creditors globally.
A crypto lender, BlockFi, filed for bankruptcy on Monday after being buffeted by the wipeout.
Embattled brokerage Genesis is striving to avoid the same fate.
BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink said earlier at the DealBook Summit that most crypto companies would probably fold after the collapse of FTX.
The world’s biggest asset manager was among companies stung by the chaotic unravelling of Mr Bankman-Fried’s tangled web of 100-plus FTX-related entities.
Mr Bankman-Fried has provided convoluted accounts on social media and in interviews with other news outlets about what led to FTX’s woes.
Advisers overseeing the ruins of his business have slammed non-existent oversight.
As if such travails weren’t enough, the exact breakup of a $662 million outflow from FTX as it tumbled into bankruptcy remains another enigma.
Mr Bankman-Fried told the event that there was improper access to FTX after its spiral.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, another speaker at the summit in New York, called the FTX debacle “the Lehman moment within crypto”, referring to the collapse of investment-banking company Lehman Brothers in 2008.
Crypto markets have stabilised somewhat after lurching lower in November as the turmoil around FTX thickened.
Even so, a gauge of the top 100 tokens is down more than 60 per cent this year, hit by tightening monetary policy and a series of crypto blow-ups, of which FTX is the most spectacular.
Mr Bankman-Fried’s fortune at one point reached $26 billion, and just weeks ago he was described as the John Pierpont Morgan of digital assets, willing to throw around his wealth to bail out the industry.
He said during the interview that he’s down to one credit card and $100,000 in the bank.
Pressed on whether he had been straight about FTX, Mr Bankman-Fried said: “I was as truthful as I’m knowledgeable to be.”
Cryptocurrencies — in pictures
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
Kanye%20West
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Recycle Reuse Repurpose
New central waste facility on site at expo Dubai South area to handle estimated 173 tonne of waste generated daily by millions of visitors
Recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass will be collected from bins on the expo site and taken to the new expo Central Waste Facility on site
Organic waste will be processed at the new onsite Central Waste Facility, treated and converted into compost to be re-used to green the expo area
Of 173 tonnes of waste daily, an estimated 39 per cent will be recyclables, 48 per cent organic waste and 13 per cent general waste.
About 147 tonnes will be recycled and converted to new products at another existing facility in Ras Al Khor
Recycling at Ras Al Khor unit:
Plastic items to be converted to plastic bags and recycled
Paper pulp moulded products such as cup carriers, egg trays, seed pots, and food packaging trays
Glass waste into bowls, lights, candle holders, serving trays and coasters
Aim is for 85 per cent of waste from the site to be diverted from landfill
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
