FTX US’ Former President Unloads Facts about SBF
- The former President of FTX US, Brett Harrison, wrote a 49-part Twitter post describing his experience while working with SBF.
- He said that his relationship with SBF “had reached a point of total deterioration” due to disputes over management practices at FTX.
- Harrison claims that SBF was emotionally volatile, avoided conflict, pushed back against criticism, and even isolated him from key decision-making.
- Bankman-Fried was rarely interested in the business of FTX US, and decisions would come directly from The Bahamas without warning.
The crypto market seems to have recovered from the ruins that the founder and former CEO of a multi-billion dollar crypto exchange, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, had left it in. There are many facts that are still being uncovered regarding the former crypto billionaire and his firm’s relationship with other crypto companies, including the US arm of the exchange, FTX US.
The former President of the US arm of the exchange, Brett Harrison, woke up on January 14 and chose the truth, revealing his experience while working with SBF. He described the series of events that led to him leaving his “dream job.”
“My relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried and his deputies had reached a point of total deterioration, after months of disputes over management practices at FTX,” said Harrison, who added that SBF was an emotionally volatile man.
In a 49-part Twitter thread, which amounted to over 1,200 words, Harrison stated that along with being emotionally volatile, Bankman-Fried avoided conflict, pushed back against criticism, and even isolated the former FTX US President from communication on key decision-making.
“Six months into my time at the company, pronounced cracks began to form in my own relationship with Sam. Around then I began advocating strongly for establishing separation and independence for the executive, legal, and developer teams of FTX US, and Sam disagreed.”
Harrison had worked with SBF at Jane Street, a global proprietary trading firm based in New York City, where he displayed promising talent and seemed like a sensible and intellectual person. Interestingly, Harrison pointed out that Bankman-Fried was rarely interested in the business of FTX US, and decisions regarding the same would come directly from The Bahamas without prior warning.
During this conflict period, Harrison claims that he saw SBF’s “total insecurity and intransigence when his decisions were questioned, his spitefulness, and the volatility of his temperament.”
After months of chaos, the former FTX US President wrote a formal complaint letter about the issues that the exchange was facing. In his 11th month at the company, Harrison stated in his complaint that he would resign if his complaints went unanswered.
“In response, I was threatened on Sam’s behalf that I would be fired and that Sam would destroy my professional reputation. I was instructed to formally retract what I’d written and to deliver an apology to Sam that had been drafted for me. That event solidified my decision to leave. I knew an abrupt departure would be harmful to the company and my FTX US reports, and I wanted to best position the company for future success after I left. So I gradually wound down, finished building and releasing the US stock brokerage, and saw FTX U.S. employees through their mid-year reviews.”
Brett Harrison stepped down as the President of FTX US in September last year, and the announcement came when the US arm of the bankrupt exchange decided to shift its headquarters from Chicago to Miami, where Mayor Francis Suarez is known for his pro-crypto stance. Harrison was replaced by former LedgerX CEO and a major personality in the crypto space, Zach Dexter.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
