Binance exec says ‘it was like a bomb went off’ at FTX, compares Bankman-Fried to Madoff and Elizabeth Holmes

The chief strategy officer said that it took his company two hours to determine that Sam Bankman- Fried's exchange was beyond saving.

Patrick Hillmann said it was like a bomb went off. People are crying when we get on the phone. The entire organization fell to pieces when Sam went silent on them.

The collapse of FTX was made clear by the fact that the world's largest exchange signed a nonbinding agreement to acquire its smaller rival. Customers demanded billions of dollars in withdrawals a day as FTX was in the middle of a liquidity crunch. FTX didn't have money because it was using client deposits for other things.

On the day it backed out of the rescue plan, the company had 30 days to explore a deal. One of FTX's first investors was Binance.

They were spending more and more money. We didn't know where the money came from. It wasn't logical to us.

FTX spent over a hundred million dollars for the naming rights to the arena of the NBA's Miami Heat and a Super Bowl ad featuring comedian Larry David.

Hillmann said that if there's smoke there's likely fire. I don't think we could have realized how hot the fire was.

Hillmann said Bankman-Fried was drawn in by his appearance and persona. According to Hillmann, the FTX founder was either delusional or a cult of personality.

There is no middle ground. One of the two.

FTX did not respond to the accusations. Bankman-Fried, who resigned from the company and was replaced as CEO by restructuring expert John Ray III, said he is still trying to reach a financing deal that can help depositors.

In his 40 years in the business, Ray has never seen a failure of corporate controls like FTX. Bankman- Fried is no longer speaking for the company.

Hillmann said that there were some concerns about FTX and its relationship with Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried made multiple trips to Washington, D.C., to testify in front of lawmakers, despite the fact that the company had raised money at a $32 billion valuation. He was a major contributor to both the Democrats and the Republicans.

The checks and balances have to be there for those individuals to agree to be a part of their work because of the level of engagement they have with some of the most powerful people on this planet.

The balance sheet was reviewed after two hours.

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