Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of Skybridge Capital, thinks failed crypto exchange FTX cannot be saved following its bankruptcy filing.
Ex-FTX Boss’ Betrayal
In an exclusive interview while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the founder and American entrepreneur opined that there is no way the exchange could be saved.
Still, Scaramucci considers the founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, a friend who was given a seat at the table of “high-profile people.” The problem is he feels betrayed that Sam turned out to be “delusional” and allegedly a fraud.
Whether Sam will end up in jail or not, he adds, is up to the jury and the presiding judge.
FTX, at its peak, was among one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, offering what was, at that time, thought to be a solid trading platform for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users.
However, as the crypto market cratered and Bitcoin slid toward this week’s trade range of around $20k, cracks began to emerge in FTX.
Eventually, an explosive piece revealing the misdoings of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, and several accounting errors in their finances broke the camel’s back. FTX halted customer withdrawals before news broke out that they were filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in the United States. It later emerged that FTX and its trading wing, Alameda Research, had misappropriated billions of customer funds.
Anthony Scaramucci: Skybridge Capital Is Patient
Considering the evidence presented and claims from the restructuring officer in charge of FTX bankruptcy proceedings, Anthony Scaramucci said nothing is to be done.
He divulged that his fund wasn’t spared by the crypto winter and the FTX contagion as market prices slumped, affecting their revenue. Their core fund, Anthony said, was down 30 percent in 2022. In January 2023, there were signs of recovery, and their core funds are up double digits. Scaramucci also confirmed that Skybridge Capital is “completed unleveraged” and owns its inventory.
Asked whether he lost money last year, he confirmed that his Bitcoin (BTC) is intact and didn’t lose any monies since he didn’t use leverage. Leverage is a trader borrows money to trade. The borrowed funds, together with the deposit, act as a margin allowing for higher profits. Still, there can be losses if a trader’s an incorrect prognosis. Traders can lose all their deposits if they use leverage and trade any other asset, including crypto.
Anthony revealed that though FTX finds itself in crisis and could dissolve, the exchange was one of the early investors of Skybridge Capital, buying 30% of the fund. As part of the deal, the fund bought 10 percent of FTX’s FTT token only to sell it for a loss of $9.5 million.
Despite this, Antony said they are patient and waiting for “what the bankruptcy people say” so that they can buy back their shares. The fund, he explains, isn’t going to blame the disgraced founder of FTX for all woes in the crypto market or Skybridge Capital. Overall, he remains confident in crypto’s prospects.