Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried admits his “biggest mistake” in FTX’s $8 billion collapse was handing over control to new management, losing a chance to save the firm. Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year prison sentence for charges related to the collapse, which led to an $8.9 billion loss of investor funds.

Bankman-Fried regrets appointing current FTX CEO John J. Ray III, saying it was his worst mistake. After handing over leadership, he missed a chance for external investment that could have saved the company. Ray filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022.

FTX founder Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the US after criminal charges were filed. The collapse resulted from misappropriation of user funds, causing huge trading losses for Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried transferred funds without consent, leading to the “Alameda gap.”

FTX creditors sued Sullivan & Cromwell, alleging involvement in FTX’s fraud and benefiting financially. S&C earned over $171.8 million in legal fees from the FTX bankruptcy. Melania Trump’s memecoin plug amid allegations of a $10M team selling.

FTX continues repaying creditors, distributing $7.8 billion so far and set to repay another $8.7 billion. Repayments started in February, with a $1.2 billion payout, followed by a $5 billion distribution in May, and a $1.6 billion distribution in September.

FTX’s collapse triggered a wave of bankruptcies across the crypto industry, leading to a long bear market. Bitcoin’s price fell to as low as $16,000. A documentary about the FTX collapse is available on Amazon Prime.

Read more at Cointelegraph: SBF’s ‘Biggest Mistake’ Was Signing Over FTX To CEO John Ray