SBF 'didn't like' decentralized Bitcoin — ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood

Published at: Dec. 11, 2022

Bitcoin (BTC) is too “decentralized and transparent” for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, says Cathie Wood.

In a tweet on Dec. 10, Wood, who is CEO of investment giant ARK Invest, delivered a fresh damning appraisal of the FTX saga.

Wood: SBF "couldn't control" Bitcoin

As the legal ramifications of FTX and Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, continue, Bitcoin loyalists are giving him little sympathy.

ARK’s Wood is now firmly among them, not mincing her words as BTC price action continues to trade around 20% down over the month.

“The Bitcoin blockchain didn’t skip a beat during the crisis caused by opaque centralized players,” she wrote.

“No wonder Sam Bankman Fried didn’t like Bitcoin: it’s transparent and decentralized. He couldn’t control it.”

Wood linked to ARK Invest’s latest Bitcoin market summary, “The Bitcoin Monthly,” in which analysts including David Puell came out bullish on BTC despite the recent setbacks.

“ARK’s conviction in decentralized and transparent public blockchains is as strong as ever,” it stated.

“The FTX and other cases like Celsius and Alameda suggest that decentralization and transparency are paramount as antidotes to the gross mismanagement that can be associated with centralized intermediaries, especially fraudulent ones.”

As Cointelegraph reported, ARK has nonetheless doubled down on its exposure to other crypto firms feeling the heat from FTX, notably Grayscale, part of the Digital Currency Group (DCG) conglomerate, in the form of increased holdings of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

The latest purchase of nearly 177,000 GBTC shares occurred on Nov. 21, according to data from Wood’s dedicated website, Cathie’s Ark.

Bankman-Fried has few allies in Bitcoi

Meanwhile, the FTX saga rolls on, with Bankman-Fried taking center stage as revelations continue to pour out.

Related: Bitcoin price liquidation risk increases as BTC struggles to reclaim $18K

Among the most recent was news that FTX subsidized crypto news outlet, The Block, via covert payments to its now former CEO, Mike McCaffrey.

Further reports indicate that Bankman-Fried deliberately attempted to destabilize the Bitcoin blockchain to help limit the FTX fallout.

"Sam used stolen & counterfeit money to corrupt the establishment & undermine bitcoin," MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor, tweeted over the weekend in a similarly hardline stance to Wood.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. How many other journalists, academics, money managers, politicians, charities, influencers, & lobbyists did he corrupt or co-opt?"

BTC/USD traded above $17,000 into the weekly close, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed, with macro volatility due in the coming week.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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