No time managing risk? No wonder FTX collapsed

Brasseur_opinion

The more Sam Bankman-Fried talks, the easier it is to comprehend how his crypto exchange once valued at $32 billion could fall apart in a span of 10 days.

The founder and former chief executive officer of FTX has been characteristically outspoken over the past week about what went wrong to lead his company to the Nov. 11 bankruptcy filing that rocked the cryptocurrency world. In a parade of media and speaking appearances—apparently in defiance of his legal representatives—Bankman-Fried has been contrite in accepting the blame for his failings and the damage he’s done.

The sincerity of such an approach will always be questioned, but in taking his words at face value, the biggest surprise might be Bankman-Fried’s exchange even managed to last the three years it did. His discussion of FTX’s approach to risk management during a lengthy interview for “Good Morning America” is enough to make any compliance officer cringe.

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