Sam Bankman-Fried says he will testify before House when he's 'finished learning and reviewing what happened'
Rep. Maxine Waters scheduled a hearing on cryptocurrency exchange FTX's collapse for Dec. 13
FTX investor Evan Luthra joins 'The Evening Edit' to share his reaction to Sam Bankman-Fried's interview with The New York Times.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said on Sunday that he will testify before the House Financial Services Committee, but suggested he may not be ready to do so before a planned hearing on Dec. 13.
"Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services: Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain. I'm not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify," Bankman-Fried tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange once worth $32 billion that Bankman-Fried founded, filed for bankruptcy last month. John Ray III, who took over as CEO at FTX after Bankman-Fried resigned, wrote in bankruptcy filings that the company was "in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals" due to the "complete failure of corporate controls."
Andrew Ross Sorkin and Sam Bankman-Fried on stage at the 2022 New York Times DealBook on November 30, 2022, in New York City. (Thos Robinson/Getty Images for The New York Times / Getty Images)
Bankman-Fried embarked on a series of media appearances this week, deflecting blame for the collapse of his crypto empire and denying any intentional wrongdoing.
"Look, I've had a bad month, but that's not what matters here," Bankman-Fried said on Wednesday at the DealBook Summit, noting that he wants to make customers "fully whole."
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, scheduled a hearing for Dec. 13 on FTX's collapse.
"We appreciate that you've been candid in your discussions about what happened at [FTX]," Waters tweeted at Bankman-Fried on Friday. "Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company's customers, investors, and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th."
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, speaks during an interview on an episode of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein in New York, US, on Wednesday, Aug 17, 2022. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Bankman-Fried donated nearly $38 million in 2021 and 2022 to various candidates and PACs, mostly Democratic candidates and left-wing groups, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Bankman-Fried did not immediately return a request for comment on Sunday.
FOX Business' Timothy Nerozzi and Eric Revell contributed to this report.