The SkyBridge creator spoke up about his trust in FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, which was ultimately shattered when the exchange went bankrupt.
Anthony Scaramucci, managing partner at SkyBridge Capital, has spoken out about the “betrayal” he felt as a result of the conduct of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, whom he had considered a “friend.”
Scaramucci said on Jan. 16 at Casper Lab’s Blockchain Hub event in Davos, Switzerland, that he felt “betrayed” by Bankman-Fried after the FTX catastrophe because he had a personal friendship with him and his family.
“I have to tell you that the betrayal and the deception, it’s horrible on a lot of different levels, it surely affected my reputation, but I’m just talking about the visceral bond with someone,” he explained, adding:
“If anybody here has read Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, you know what the ninth circle of Hell is reserved for […] It’s for the betrayal of a friend who lives with the devil—the ninth circle of hell on the frozen lake.”
Scaramucci eventually stated that he bet on someone he trusted and “got it wrong” after further explaining his relationship with Bankman-Fried.
“Because I’m a high-profile person, my mistakes are dramatically magnified, which is completely OK, but I’m not going to cease risk-taking,” he said, adding, “I believed Sam was the Mark Zuckerberg of crypto, not the Bernie Madoff of crypto.”
However, the SkyBridge founder remains unfazed by the event, stating that he has made a career out of taking risks and will “probably make that mistake again.”
Similarly, Scaramucci’s faith in cryptocurrency has not been rattled, as he highlighted that FTX’s bankruptcy had nothing to do with the technology’s basic value proposition.
“That is why we have blockchain and cryptocurrency, because we are attempting to build a decentralised environment in which we do not have to like or trust each other. […] We can transact with one another in a way that technology essentially sanctifies.”
Scaramucci told CNBC on January 13 that SkyBridge is now working on repurchasing a 30% stake in the company that it sold to FTX for an undisclosed amount in September.
Notably, the transaction occurred just two months before FTX declared bankruptcy. Scarmucci stated that if all of the legal formalities are worked out, the buyback might take place before the end of the year.
Scarmucci will retain some ties to FTX once the buyback is completed, thanks to an investment he made in a crypto firm formed by former FTX US president Brett Harrison. This week, he confirmed the change to Bloomberg through email.
Scaramucci stated at the recent Blockchain Hub event that it is critical to back and support people like Harrison who are facing difficulties as a result of his involvement with FTX.
Harrison, of course, has distanced himself from SBF’s antics and his inner group, and resigned from the firm in September.
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