Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)  defended himself from accusations of fraud, and claimed that FTX’s troubles stemmed from an accounting error.

“I didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone,” he said. “I was shocked by what happened this month.”

Sorkin read SBF a letter from a former FTX customer alleging that he had lost his $2 million in life savings within the now-defunct exchange. Like many, the customer suspected that FTX had loaned his funds to Alameda Research, a trading desk with deep ties to FTX and Bankman-Fried. 

Bankman-Fried explained that Alameda Research had more open leverage than he realized – particularly using FTT tokens as collateral.