‘I never opened the code for FTX’: SBF has long, candid talk with vlogger

Former FTX caput Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) selected cryptocurrency vlogger Tiffany Fong for a bid of lengthy and candid telephone interviews. In the 2 interviews that had been released connected YouTube astatine property time, SBF speaks astir galore of the large questions connected with the illness of FTX.

The archetypal interrogation was conducted Nov. 6 and released Nov. 29 connected YouTube. “I’ve started to spot my gut connected things similar this,” SBF said, explaining wherefore helium selected the comparatively chartless fig to talk to. Fong has little than 10,000 subscribers to her channel. “Here’s idiosyncratic who will, like, attack this from astatine slightest a somewhat neutral and funny vantage point,” helium said of her. He continued:

“We arsenic a society, successful my opinion, my humble opinion, person spent rather capable clip this week trying to fig retired whether anyone surviving successful [the FTX residential installation in] Albany [Bahamas] was polyamorous [...] and the reply is excessively boring for radical to believe.”

The signaling began with SBF saying, “You don’t get into the concern we got successful if you, like, marque each the close decisions.” Taking her cue from that, Fong started her interrogation by asking astir the “backdoor” that allowed SBF “to execute commands that could change the [FTX] company’s fiscal records without alerting others.”

SBF expressed astonishment astatine the precise idea. “And this is thing I would beryllium doing?” helium asked. “That I tin archer you is decidedly not true. I don’t adjacent cognize however to code. […] I virtually ne'er adjacent opened the codification for immoderate of FTX.”

This acceptable the code for the remainder of the conversation, successful which Fong politely asked hardball questions and SBF answered with seeming openness.

SBF went connected to remark connected FTX’s FTT coin. “I deliberation it had existent value. That being said, determination are a fewer problems. […] This was f*****g embarrassing fixed my background. […] I deliberation it was fundamentally much legit than a batch of tokens successful immoderate ways. Its was much economically underpinned than the mean token was,” helium said.

“Illiquidity didn’t origin the crash,” SBF continued. Rather, it was “the monolithic correlation of things during marketplace moves, particularly erstwhile they are triggered by fearfulness implicit the presumption itself.”

SBF agreed with Fong that “the betterment looks beauteous slim” for planetary customers, portion “U.S. is simply a 100 percent. If its Amazon relationship had not been turned off, “they could already beryllium withdrawing.”

Related: FTX illness drives curiosity astir Sam Bankman-Fried, Google information shows

Speaking astir his governmental activities, SBF said, “I donated astir the aforesaid to some parties. […] All of my Republican donations were dark.” He addressed rumors astir wealth laundering of Ukrainian donations:

“The Ukraine one? I privation I could person pulled that off. I wish. I didn’t afloat recognize the extremity of it. I was helping Ukraine launder funds for the Democratic Party? I don’t cognize wherefore Ukraine is laundering funds for the Democratic Party. I don’t cognize however they would oregon wherefore they would.”

Tiffany was not lone capable to container 1 interrogation with SBF… she was capable to container a second. Dang lol. pic.twitter.com/GK1cMFYVVG

— xNFT Danny ◎ (@DannyCryptohodl) November 29, 2022

In the second, undated, telephone interview, SBF addressed the usage of FTX lawsuit funds by Alameda Research. Struggling for words, SBF said that helium should person thought much astir “what a hyper-correlated cross-scenario looks like. It’s the oldest crippled successful the publication successful finance. […] There was nary 1 idiosyncratic successful complaint of monitoring hazard positions astatine FTX.” Fong pressed for specifics from the situation, with small success.

SBF took a mean presumption connected the relation of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) successful the FTX downfall. “Things would surely beryllium a batch much unchangeable and determination would beryllium a batch much quality to make liquidity […] and I don’t cognize for sure.”

Asked astir the interaction of the illness of FTX and surrounding ungraded connected him, SBF said, “I aftermath up each time and deliberation astir what happened, and I person hours per time to ruminate connected it. […] It’s antithetic than what it seems to different people.”