In a recent interview, bitcoin bull and former White House communications director under Donald Trump Anthony Scaramucci compared former FTX executive Sam Bankman-Fried to Bernie Madoff, the man who orchestrated an investor Ponzi scheme back in 2008 to grow his own wealth and lead a billion-dollar lifestyle.
Anthony Scaramucci Says He Was Betrayed By SBF
During his discussion, Scaramucci claimed that Bankman-Fried was guilty of both “betrayal” and “fraud,” though at one point, he claimed he was a “friend” given he purchased a near 30 percent stake in Sky Bridge Capital, the hedge fund Scaramucci still runs. He also was very close to Sam Bankman-Fried’s father and family. He stated:
So, I [need] to tell you that the betrayal and the fraud is bad on a lot of different levels. It certainly hurt me reputationally, but I’m just talking about the visceral relationship with somebody.
He then referred to the “Divine Comedy,” a poem written by Dante. In that work, the ninth circle of hell is reserved for traitors, and those who stab others in the back are forced to live in a lake of ice with the devil himself. He hinted that this is likely where SBF is heading and stated:
If anybody here has read Dante Alighieri’s ‘Inferno,’ you know what the ninth circle of hell is reserved for. It’s for the betrayal of a friend who lives with the devil.
The 30 percent stake in Sky Bridge purchased by Bankman-Fried cost around $45 million. Scaramucci joked that SBF gave the money. He also claimed to have bought about $10 million worth of FTT, the native token of the now defunct crypto exchange FTX (run by Bankman-Fried). In all, he was quick to say that it was wrong of him to get involved with SBF and his enterprises. He stated:
I made a mistake being involved with Sam, but I’ll probably make that mistake again. I thought Sam was the Mark Zuckerberg of crypto. I did not think he was the Bernie Madoff of crypto, and I got that wrong.
He also mentioned that while the FTX drama is certainly a big blow to the industry, he doesn’t think it should be a full reflection of the space. He commented:
When you have a friend that betrays you like that, it really sucks, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of blockchain or crypto.
FTX Has Hit Crypto Hard
The FTX debacle will probably go down as one of the scariest and most embarrassing things to ever occur in the digital currency space.
What was once the big, golden player of the industry has collapsed into a giant heap of bankruptcy and potential fraud, with customer funds potentially being used to pay off a separate company’s loans and to invest in luxury Bahamian real estate.
