SBF talks to The New York Times: Why are the funds of Alameda and FTX mixed?

Original author: CoinDesk reporter Nikhilesh De

Original compilation: 0x214, 0x911 , BlockBeats

After the FTX thunderstorm incident, SBF made a public statement for the first time. On November 30, he talked with New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook summit. CoinDesk reporter Nikhilesh De recorded the conversation between the two, and BlockBeats sorted out and translated it as follows:

Andrew : "People don't think this conversation should be happening. I just want to say that I think our job as journalists is to have this conversation on behalf of the public, to ask questions, to seek answers."

There are two perspectives on FTX-related events. There's the more permissive view that you're a young man who has made a series of rather horrific, poor decisions; the less permissive view is that you've committed massive fraud. "

SBF: "At the end of the day, I am the CEO of FTX Officer, which means no matter what happens...I have a responsibility to all my stakeholders, customers...I have to get them right to make sure the right things happen to the company...Obviously I've made a lot of mistakes."

About capital mixing

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When answering the first question from the audience, SBF said that FTX US and FTX International are two platforms, "I believe that the current FTX US platform can open withdrawals." SBF said its access to the data was limited, but "from what I've seen ... basically a year ago Alameda had leverage of about 10%."

Andrew: “I think the bigger question is where does Alameda get the loan from? relationship,” Andrew cites in the FTX terms of service that FTX does not own user funds. SBF said there is much more to the FTX terms of service.

Andrew directly asked if there was a mix of funds? SBF Responds:"I did not intentionally mix funds...I never attempted to mix funds."

Andrew asked SBF to explain whether what he said on Twitter about an "$8 billion accounting error" had anything to do with a Wall Street Journal report. The Wall Street Journal said Alameda Research principal Caroline Ellison told employees that Alameda used FTX client funds to pay for loans.

Andrew pursues the so-called no connection between Alameda and FTX (Obviously the two are related): "I think the point is, should you have access to these accounts in the first place?"

SBF: "I didn't manage the Alameda operation, I didn't know what was going on at the time, I didn't know the size of the position, a lot of things I had in the last I just found out within a month." SBF kept repeating that it was a mistake he made. He said he would be concerned about conflicts of interest if he ran Alameda himself.

Andrew: "When did asset mixing start? "

SBF: "They don't have... a lot of traders With open margin positions on FTX, they may have borrowed assets, and they may have shorted some assets with other assets as collateral.”

Andrew: "There's always been a correlation between FTX and Alameda, which sounds reasonable." Then, Andrew asked SBF if it was "hoping Why would it all get sorted out without knowing it, and then no one would want to figure out what the hell the purpose of the money mixing is?" Then SBF explained that everyone was "sending money to Alameda for credit on the FTX platform."

Andrew: "What do you think of Alameda being used to effectively launder money What do you mean?" SBF asked if it was FTX US or FTX International, and Andrew said it was FTX International.

SBF: "These users will still have to pass FTX's KYC policy."

Andrew: "So what do you think you have a problem with?" SBF said it was November 6th. “I think it started around November 2, when Alameda’s balance sheet was leaked to CoinDesk…” (This sentence is provided by CoinDesk reporter Ian Allison) SBF expressed his concern that this would lead to “big losses for Alameda.”

About collateral and venture capital

Andrew asked SBF about trying to save other companies: “When you do that, how much effort is there to shore up assets like FTT value?"

SBF: "As far as I know, there is no Any lending company that holds a lot of FTT, I think a lot of them have probably been using it as collateral. I don't think that counts as they own FTT.

Andrew: "Obviously you use FTT, SOL and other Tokens as collateral, and some of them require you to use special methods for valuation, Give them a value. Do you think your valuation is accurate?"

SBF : "I don't think I'm valuing them the way I'd like them to be from a risk standpoint."

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Andrew: "You told investors and regulators that you did not participate in Alameda's decision-making, but Alameda invested $1.15 billion in Bitcoin mining company Genesis Digital Assets."

SBF: "I was involved in venture capital to some extent , but that was done in a separate entity from Alameda’s proprietary trading.”

Regarding criminal liability

Andrew: "How does the lawyer talk to you now Said? Wouldn’t it do you good for them to prompt you to speak out?”

SBF: "They don't, and neither do I. I have a duty to speak out to the public and explain what's going on."

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Andrew: "Are you worried about criminal liability now?"

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SBF: "I don't think I do, I mean, obviously I personally don't think I do, you know. But I think the real answer is It's not... It might sound weird, but I think the real answer is that it's not what I care about right now. "

SBF: "I mean, I've had Very bad."

Andrew: "November 7 On the 2nd, you tweeted and deleted another tweet. The deleted tweet read "FTX has enough funds to cover all customer deposits, we do not invest customer assets"... and just a few minutes ago, You also told me things started to improve on November 7th. Are you telling the truth?"

SBF: "Things are unpredictable."

< p>When asked about the post-bankruptcy hack, SBF said he had lost access to the system at the time. He believes that the US team took action to "confiscate some assets and put them into custody".

About Genesis

Andrew: "Over the summer, you paid $2.5 billion in loans to Barry Silbert's Genesis, and I just wanted to scratch the surface of what was possible Developments... and where did the money come from?"

SBF:< /b>"My understanding is that I believe Genesis is attempting to recover a substantial amount of loans from Alameda."

Regarding the Vox interview, SBF reiterated that he thought he was talking to "an old friend of mine" (I think that A reporter disagreed), adding that he was thinking about malaria, animal welfare and epidemic prevention.

Regarding political donations

When it came to SBF's political donations and lobbying in Washington, Andrew repeatedly pressed questions about the source of the funds. SBF means all from trading profits.

Andrew asks SBF if he feels he "needs to buy a doorway" to meet lawmakers and regulators By. SBF said it took a lot of time and "wasn't a matter of money".

Andrew asked about the vacation home where SBF's parents were "validly offered" Detail of the parents' house.

Andrew: "Reading these stories, I feel like a bunch of Kids with ADHD are throwing sleepover parties!"

SBF: "I'm the CEO, I'm the CEO, I mean I say over and over again I'm responsible for this."

SBF: "I think we may have spent too much effort to get regulation."

Andrew: "May I ask about your medicine?"

SBF: "I didn't drink for the first time until after my 21st birthday."

About the future

Andrew asks SBF about his future, SBF says he doesn't know what his future is, near/medium term is "I want to help regulators, managers and clients as much as I can".

SBF: “There is a lot of interest in financing. ’ Although it has been said before, there is no mention of who the interested parties are.

Whilst answering a corporate governance question, the SBF line went down. Recovered, SBF said a dozen subsidiaries had boards (Andrew was probably asking about the main parent FT entity that didn't have a board).

Andrew: "Are you honest with us today?"< /p>

SBF: "Of course."

Andrew: "You have lied too, do you agree?"

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SBF: "I don't know when I lied, but I want to be sure There were a few times when I acted as a representative and sales representative for FTX.”

Click to view:Interview & Full Transcript< /blockquote>

Original link

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