Kevin O’Leary would back Sam Bankman-Fried again if he had a new venture

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary said he would back former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried again if he had a new venture. This comes despite FTX’s collapse that left potentially more than a million creditors in the lurch due to an estimated $8 billion hole.

“You can love him or hate him for what’s happened. But he was one of the most brilliant traders in the crypto universe,” said O’Leary in an interview with Onchain Capital CEO Ran Neuner on Crypto Banter. When asked if he would back Bankman-Fried in a new venture, he said, “The answer would be yes.”

O’Leary said Bankman-Fried would have to suffer “the slings and arrows” but that he still liked the former CEO and felt sorry for him.

Bankman-Fried’s exchange collapsed after a bank run on the exchange revealed it did not have enough liquid assets to cover its client liabilities. Bankman-Fried claims that the exchange technically has enough illiquid assets but doubts have been raised that the assets can be sold for anywhere close to their supposed value.

The exchange has been left with a shortfall of around $8 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The problem was allegedly caused by the exchange’s sister company Alameda Research being able to borrow customer funds, according to Reuters and CNBC.

The exchange is now being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to Reuters.