Bankman-Fried said FTX.US was 'FINE!' one day before bankruptcy filing 

Quick Take

  • Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, insisted the U.S. arm of his company was “FINE!” the day before it filed for bankruptcy.
  • The stunning collapse of FTX happened in less than a week, after a run on its utility token.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried insisted the U.S. arm of his crypto empire was “FINE!” after the company’s utility token collapsed — right up until FTX.US filed for bankruptcy on Friday morning. 

“FTX US USERS ARE FINE!” Bankman-Fried wrote in a series of tweets on Thursday. FTX US, the US-based exchange that accepts Americans, was not financially impacted by this shitshow.”

A day later, Bankman-Fried resigned his post as CEO, and FTX.US filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. FTX announced it had moved to file for Chapter 11, along with more than 100 of its affiliated corporate entities, including Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research trading firm. 

The shocking collapse of the crypto exchange began last weekend when rival exchange Binance announced it would sell a large position of FTX’s utility token, FTT. Bankman-Fried insisted his company was “fine” on Monday, but by Tuesday the firm was in turmoil. A spokesperson for FTX declined to comment. 

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Even as Bankman-Fried acknowledged the international arm of his company was facing trouble, he assured users of FTX.US throughout the week that the entity was not impacted. The former CEO said he was “shocked” by what had happened on Friday, after announcing FTX.US would file for bankruptcy.

“I'm piecing together all of the details, but I was shocked to see things unravel the way they did earlier this week,” Bankman-Fried said on Twitter. 


Disclaimer: The former CEO and majority shareholder of The Block has disclosed a series of loans from former FTX and Alameda founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Stephanie is a senior reporter covering policy and regulation. She is focused on legislation, regulatory agencies, lobbying and money in politics. Stephanie is based in Washington, D.C.

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