SBF wants to make amends! FTX planned to shut down Alameda two months before bankruptcy, calling it: "The greatest success is also the greatest failure."
As the trial of SBF unfolds, more and more unknown past events are coming to light. In a draft Twitter post from last year, SBF mentioned his previous consideration of shutting down Alameda Research. Unfortunately, due to excessive debts, this matter could not be successfully carried out.
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SBF's View on Alameda: The Greatest Success and the Greatest Failure
According to a report by The Block, in the fraud trial faced by SBF, he provided a draft of a Twitter post written in September last year, two months before FTX collapsed, as evidence.
According to the testimony of FTX co-founder Gary Wang, SBF was nervous before posting an article describing the close relationship between FTX and Alameda Research. In this post, SBF referred to Alameda as: "One of my greatest successes, and then one of my biggest failures, followed by success again."
"It's a part of the ecosystem, being a buyer when no one else is ready to buy, in times of intense market volatility, falling prices, and capital scarcity." SBF praised Alameda in this way.
Even after SBF left Alameda, he continued to speak highly of its operations in the post, stating: "It has become a major source globally for providing liquidity, guiding, and supporting the entire ecosystem. And it occasionally makes a good trade."
Three Lessons SBF Learned from Alameda
In addition to the positive assessment of Alameda, SBF also mentioned the "biggest failure" part, which involved losing millions of dollars worth of Ripple's XRP tokens. SBF stated: "In February 2018, we became lazy, our accounting work was negligent, and we lost most of the money we earned."
"Employees felt sad, angry, and frustrated, and I was powerless to do anything about it," SBF emphasized.
It wasn't until the company split into two parts that SBF realized the following three things:
- Ultimately, I am responsible for everything.
- I cannot make everyone happy, and if someone is unhappy, they should leave.
- Most importantly, I need to ensure that we are doing the right things as a company.
SBF Criticizes Competitors
In addition to these contents, SBF did not forget to criticize his competitors in the post, without specifying them, stating: "The claim that Alameda and FTX are too close is mainly spread by competitors trying to divert attention away from their own issues, which is not true."
At the same time, SBF also made a veiled counterattack: "Some competitors have internal trading desks, which is an open secret, specifically using confidential user information to manipulate their own markets."
Alameda Did Not Shut Down, FTX Cannot Live Forever
In any case, Alameda did not end as SBF had anticipated. According to Gary Wang's testimony, the reason was that Alameda owed too much, a total of $14 billion to FTX.
If Alameda had not continued down the wrong path and had successfully closed, SBF's post might have been able to be issued smoothly, and the scene mentioned in the post might have actually happened.
"Alameda Research declares the end, FTX lives long."