Sam Bankman-Fried tried to cling on to control of his collapsing FTX cryptocurrency exchange against the advice of lawyers and executives at the company who repeatedly urged him to give up some control and file for bankruptcy, according to a report. Messages and emails from officials at the company obtained by the New York Times revealed the chaos inside the company as it unraveled from a valuation of around $32 billion in March to filing for bankruptcy earlier this month. Bankman-Fried, 30, reportedly held off on authorizing the Chapter 11 filing as he attempted to save FTX by raising funds. According to the Times, senior staff at the company grew so concerned about Bankman-Fried’s actions as the company spiraled that they appealed directly to his father. In one Slack message concerning mistakes in the company’s bankruptcy filing, top FTX lawyer Ryne Miller also reportedly criticized Bankman-Fried’s lack of cooperation as the crisis mounted. “We had no cooperation of the founders in preparing this week,” Ryne reportedly wrote. “It was unfortunate.”
