FTX former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), in a recent post in Substack, has insisted that FTX US has been solvent before the bankruptcy filing. He stated that the US subsidiary of FTX was worth over $350 million net, which was bigger than the customer’s balance.
The FTX saga has rolled on for months since its bankruptcy filing in November. SBF was sued for financial fraud by the Security and Exchange Commission recently, but the former FTX boss pleaded not guilty in a court hearing in early January.
In an update on Substack on January 12, SBF wrote that FTX US’s funds and customer base were separate from its international holdings. He said that its solvent U.S. subsidiary should have returned its customer’s funds as the company was healthy before the bankruptcy.
SBF also released the balance sheet of FTX and its US subsidiary in the update. The figures revealed that the FTX US account holds nearly $60 million in customer funds. It also revealed that almost $48 million was left in the company’s bag before its handover to the current boss, John Ray.
SBF said S&C Forced FTX into Bankruptcy Filing
The bankruptcy of FTX was expected across the crypto industry after Binance pulled out from the acquisition deal with it. However, Bankman-Fried revealed that Sullivan & Crowell (S&C) forced the exchange to file for bankruptcy. S&C is a legal firm in New York
SBF unveiled that S&C “strong-armed and threatened him,” forcing him to file for bankruptcy. He noted that he regretted the decision, stating that if FTX were to be reborn now, it would still recover from its setback and repay customers fully.
FTX processed over $5 billion in withdrawals and had over $8 billion worth of assets before its bankruptcy filing, according to Bankman-Fried. The company also had lots of funding potential and would have acquired over $4 billion, SBF said
SBF Blames C.Z. Yet Again
Bankman-Fried again blamed Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao for FTX’s demise. He claimed the November crash was a “targeted attack on assets held by Alameda, not a broad market movement.”
SBF noted that Alameda would have survived the market crash without the attacks launched at the exchange. He blamed CZ for creating a FUD with his tweet and causing Alameda’s assets to fall 50%. He noted that Bitcoin plunged 15%, 30% less than Alameda’s stock.
On November 6, Binance CEO tweeted about the company’s decision to liquidate all of its FTT holdings. He accredited the decision to recent revelations that came to light.
