Takeaways From FTX's Bankman-Fried's Showing At NYTimes Dealbook Summit

For FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, it was a sky-high ride and thus far, a meteoric crash of nearly unparalleled proportions. Now, SBF has made his first ‘public appearance’ since FTX’s meltdown, despite many crypto spectator’s disdain.

Let’s review some of the major points of review in SBF’s Dealbook Summit appearance.

Sam Bankman-Fried Appears On Dealbook Summit

Crypto communities have expressed quite a bit of frustration and dumbfoundedness seeing SBF’s name across the Dealbook Summit’s speaker session since being announced earlier this month. Bankman-Fried’s video chat session at the Dealbook Summit was covered online through a New York Times live business channel feed.

Presenting himself in similar fashion as he had pre-downfall, Bankman-Fried appeared on camera in a simple black t-shirt and

Here’s a few of the biggest hits:

Early in the session, the panel audience – who shelled out over $2,000 per ticket – burst in laughter at SBF’s describing of him having a ‘rough month.’ Moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin generated some laugh tracks when asking Bankman-Fried about whether his lawyer’s suggested he conduct the interview, soliciting SBF’s plain reply: “No, they are not.”
Regarding acts of fraud, SBF continues to attempt to maintain a thin-as-paper argument that he simply “made mistakes,” often citing discrepancies in “dashboards,” and even explicitly stating that he “didn’t knowingly commingle funds” between Alameda and FTX. He follows up the flimsy defense by stating that for some time, inbound customer wires were directed straight to Alameda bank accounts.
Bankman-Fried went on to deny any suspect behavior surrounding the potential BlockFi acquisition, which many speculated to be an acquisition attempt to simply extend FTX’s liquidity. SBF stated that he “wasn’t doing it for any reason to do with FTT in particular.”

There is plenty more meat on the bone – and it is well worth reviewing for those keeping a pulse on the FTX saga – from the Summit. However, the large theme is that SBF continues to make public statements that maintain that he simply “made mistakes,” seemingly unaware of the processes surrounding the money his customer’s entrusted his organization with.

FTX's platform token (FTT) went under as FTX was exposed for excessive, high-risk leverage with customer funds. | Source: FTT:USDT on TradingView.com

What Happens Next?

It’s a cloudy road ahead with regards to the future for Bankman-Fried but it is seemingly a road nonetheless. The U.S. Senate hearing regarding FTX – which could have implications or impacts on future crypto legislation – is underway this week. Meanwhile, SBF has even posted on Twitter since the Summit appearance, in a bevy of tweet replies generally reiterating his defense of relative innocence.

Only time will tell how this saga shakes out, but there’s bound to be plenty of action between now and the end of the year.