In recent testimony, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, revealed that he had been advised to avoid asking too many questions, a situation that led to a series of financial decisions.
When employees raised concerns or pointed out issues, SBF admitted that he did acknowledge them but explained that his busy schedule often distracted him.
Posts on the social platform X (formerly Twitter) suggest that FTX employees took the initiative to report problems within the exchange to SBF. However, it appears he may not have given these concerns the attention they deserved.
When questioned about whether his team had alerted him to a bug related to the fiat in user accounts, SBF responded,
“Yes, and I agreed with them. I did not follow up.”
Additionally, he shared that FTX exchange executives Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, and Ryan Salame had warned him about a potential exploit, which he did not take seriously at the time.
“That was a messy situation. Gary, Nishad & Ryan Salame told me an account could be trying to exploit FTX. I overrode the risk procedures. They were right.”
SBF also clarified that his readiness to engage with journalists while managing the exchange could vary, sometimes giving them as little as 30 seconds or as long as an hour before conducting interviews.
