FTX’s small investors biggest losers in fallout: Former FDIC Chair Bair
Bair says crypto giant's collapse will hurt a lot of young people
Sheila Bair: Sam Bankman-Fried built credibility through his network
Former FDIC chair Sheila Bair explains why she was shocked by the collapse of FTX under founder Sam Bankman-Fried on 'Cavuto: Coast to Coast.'
The collapse of crypto exchange FTX continues to send shockwaves through the market as more details emerge about the house of cards built by founder Sam Bankman-Fried, leaving analysts scratching their heads over how so many sophisticated investors could have been duped in the scheme.
Sam Bankman-Fried speaks during the Institute of International Finance annual membership meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, 2022. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Yet, while some larger creditors to FTX could see a portion of their money returned as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the added tragedy is that the vast majority of smaller investors will likely see nothing, according to former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chair Sheila Bair.
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Bair told FOX Business that a great deal of focus has been on the top 50 FTX investors looking for restitution, but the tragedy is there are "potentially a million much smaller investors – and proportionately, they're the ones that are really going to get hurt."
Sheila Bair, former FDIC chair, says smaller FTX investors will be disproportionately hurt by the crypto exchange's collapse. (Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The former FDIC chief went on to note that FTX and the crypto industry at large markets heavily to young people, saying it "saddens" her that so many who bought into the company's allure will likely see no recourse.
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Bair says that to prevent this from happening in the future, crypto exchanges should be required to show proof of reserves and that some supervisory enforcement must be put in place.
Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in front of displayed FTX logo and decreasing stock graph in this illustration taken Nov. 10, 2022. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File / Reuters Photos)
In the meantime, she said, the good news is that the broader economy likely will not be impacted by the volatility going on with crypto, unlike the 2008 market crash when regulated industries were compromised.
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Bair explained, "The economy's not going to be hurt by this, but a lot of individuals will be – and that's very sad."