FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried says he’s willing to lose money to keep the cryptocurrency industry functioning properly.
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and CEO of FTX, told attendees at the Bloomberg Crypto Summit in New York on Tuesday that he is prepared to accept losses if doing so helps preserve the broader crypto infrastructure.
Bankman-Fried argued that market leaders sometimes need to spend capital to ensure the market continues to operate smoothly. He explained:
“It’s OK to do a deal that is moderately bad in bailing out a place. The bar is not: Is this a good return on investment? It’s more about maintaining the health of the wider industry.”
A bearish trend over recent months has put pressure on many cryptocurrency firms, and Bankman-Fried said he had set aside $1 billion to help where needed.
He has already deployed hundreds of millions to assist firms such as BlockFi and Voyager Digital, though those efforts have not always produced the intended outcomes.
FTX has the option to acquire BlockFi for $240 million, while Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.
Asked about the money spent on Voyager, Bankman-Fried laughed and downplayed the losses, signaling that the broader objective was to stabilize the market rather than maximize returns on each intervention.
He warned that the market’s troubles are not yet over and noted that many companies continue to face uncertain financial positions. Conversations with several firms, he said, revealed that many do not have a clear picture of their own finances.
Despite that uncertainty, Bankman-Fried said he is willing to help other crypto companies get their finances in order.
Bankman-Fried also disclosed that FTX has considered buying Bitcoin but would only do so if the asset reached a specific price target. He said:
“We did have real conversations at some point. There was a price. We did not hit that price.”
In recent days the cryptocurrency market has shown signs of recovery, with Bitcoin trading above $23,000 per coin at the time of reporting.