A software developer lost access to $120,000 of funds on FTX US as Sam Bankman- Fried's empire collapsed.
The California-based father of three, who asked to be identified by first name only, planned to use the money for his children's college education
He had between five and five hundred dollars on his account, as well as a small position in Avalanche. The FTX investments made up 25% of his family's nest egg.
Cryptocurrencies and risk assets have gone through a bear market, but that didn't bother him since he believed in his investments and has been a trader for 25 years. There was a personal sting to the implosion of FTX.
"If funds go away one day, it's crookery," he said. You are part of a Ponzi scheme. I'm really upset by that. A lot of my savings are gone because someone tried to steal them.
US authorities have accused Bankman-Fried of masterminding a massive, yearslong fraud in which billions of dollars in customer funds were diverted for his own benefit.
The failure of FTX hasn't made him rethink his faith in cryptocurrencies. He thinks that the world's largest token is still a good investment.
Given the amount of money I've lost, my risk profile has to change. It's not that I don't believe in digital currency.
Real estate and luxury collectibles are some of the hard assets he plans to add to. He appreciates investments he can feel and touch in real life, even though the rate of returns is slower.
The fate of $120,000 in assets is uncertain. Big-name players in distressed debt investing are interested in customers whose assets are stuck on the bankrupt exchange, according to a report. There are some offers in the range of 13 cents.
When asked if he would accept an offer from a buyer to take over his claim of lost funds, he said he would rather hold out for the chance of being made whole again in the future.
Since Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO and John Ray III took over, the new leadership said it's impossible to recover all customer losses.
Seeing retail investors make whole is the main hope of the man.
"If this turns out that Bankman-Fried is locked up in jail, and all the lenders and big creditor get taken care of, but retail customers get left empty, then that doesn't do much," he said. "Everyday investors are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to ranking, but there has to be some type of recourse for people who are not wealthy."
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