‘I f***ed up’: Crypto boss behind $200 billion crash apologises

Samuel Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, testifies during a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on 9 February, 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

The boss of a beleagured cryptocurrency exchange has apologised for his part in causing a crypto crash that has so far wiped roughly $200 billion from the market.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried took the blame for financial irregularities at the exchange, which until recently was the third largest in the world by trading volume.

“I‘m sorry. That’s the biggest thing. I fucked up, and should have done better,” Mr Bankman-Fried wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

“I also should have been communicating more very recently... right now, my #1 priority – by far – is doing right by users. And I’m going to do everything I can to do that. To take responsibility, and do what I can.”

The crypto boss said that he was currently attempting to raise liquidity in order to compensate FTX users.

The crypto crash began over the weekend, when the CEO of rival exchange CZ announced that he was withdrawing his firm’s entire holdings of FTX’s native token FTT due to “recent revelations that have come to light”.

Over the next few days, more than $5 billion was withdrawn from the FTX exchange, resulting in a liquidation crisis. Attempts to rescue the exchange have so far failed, with customers outside the US unable to withdraw funds.

The impact on the broader crypto market has been severe, with bitcoin left trading at its lowest point in two years. Analysts have warned that investors’ trust in the space will be once again be severely tested.