SBF's latest reflection post: I will do my best to serve FTX users first
"In the future, I will no longer care about stupid, content-less information."Written by: SBF
Compiled by: Odaily Planet Daily
Yesterday, SBF reflected on the FTX collapse, stating that due to leverage being far higher than expected, the run on the bank and market crash depleted liquidity, and his overconfidence and carelessness led to the historic collapse. However, he emphasized that he is doing everything he can, personally meeting with regulators and working with his team to prioritize serving users, followed by serving investors.
The following is SBF's tweet, edited and translated by Odaily Planet Daily:
This is not legal advice, nor is it financial advice. This is all I remember, but my memory may be partially incorrect. But I will figure out what happened. Now, let’s talk about where we are today.
As far as I know, as of after November 7 (there may be errors):
1) Alameda has more assets than liabilities (but not liquid assets);
2) Alameda holds margin positions on FTX;
3) FTX US has enough assets to cover all user repayments.
But not everyone may agree with this. My only goal right now is to satisfy users, and I am doing everything I can for that. I will personally meet with regulators and work with my team to serve users as best as possible, followed by investors, but users come first.
My current goal is to continue to clean up and focus on asset transparency, minimizing the impact on users.
A few weeks ago, FTX was processing about $10 billion in daily trading volume and billions in transfers. But leverage was far higher than expected, and the run on the bank and market crash depleted liquidity. So what can I try to do? Increase liquidity, try to make up for customers, and then restart. Maybe I will fail, maybe I won’t be able to do anything. I have indeed failed before, and you all saw that. But all I can do is try. I have failed enough this month, but deep down I believe I can still do something.
A rough estimate of the current situation:
Liquid assets are -$8 billion;
Semi-liquid assets are $5.5 billion;
Illiquid assets are $3.5 billion.
Additionally, perhaps the current $9 billion in semi/illiquid assets (valued at market value, $1 billion net worth) is not worth $9 billion, but these assets were worth $18 billion a month ago ($10 billion net worth).
I know you all see this, but roughly speaking, this is the situation today.
A month ago, FTX was a valuable company. FTX's daily trading volume was about $10 billion to $15 billion, with annual revenue of about $1 billion and an equity value of up to $40 billion. FTX was hailed as a model of efficient operation and was a darling of Silicon Valley. But (again, as far as I know, these numbers are approximate) most relevant assets have plummeted over 50%. Meanwhile, there was a run on the exchange, with about 25% of customer assets being withdrawn daily. Leverage reached $13 billion, rather than the previously thought $5 billion. High leverage, a run on funds, and a complete collapse in asset values suddenly occurred simultaneously.
Last night I was chatting with a friend.
They released my information. This was not intended to be public, but now it is public anyway.
Well, I guess this makes things worse. I am really sorry that things have turned out this way. As I said—I will do my best to make it right.
Some of my thoughts:
Regulators really have a tough job. They have an impossible task: to regulate an entire industry that is growing faster than their authority allows. Therefore, they often end up unable to regulate as ideally as they would like.
Even so, there are some regulators whose knowledge and work have impressed me, such as the CFTC, SCB, and VARA, among others. But most regulators are overwhelmed.
This means that interactions with regulators can really be frustrating: a "large" amount of work, most of which is arbitrary, with relatively little customer protection. You all deserve a framework that allows regulators to protect customers while allowing freedom.
Some of the things I said (last night) were reckless or too strong, but I was venting and did not intend for them to be public. But I think that at this point, what I wrote will be leaked anyway.
From now on, I will no longer care about stupid, content-less information.
What matters is what you do, whether you are actually doing good things or bad things, and not just talking about them.
In any case, none of this matters now.
What matters is to do my best.
And to do my best to serve FTX customers.
