Former FTX US President Opens Up About Bankman-Fried's Mental Health and Addiction: 'He Wasn't Who I Remembered'

Former US President of FTX, Brett Harrison, has revealed that his relationship with the exchange's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, has reached a point of total deterioration. Harrison says it wasn't worth continuing to work for the company, no matter the prestige or perks, or the risk to his reputation by leaving early.

In a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday, Harrison raised concerns about Bankman-Fried's mental health and addiction, saying, "Like many of us, I have from family and friends who live with addiction and mental health issues, and I've seen how these issues often show up without warning in early adulthood. I thought this might be a contributing factor and I felt sympathy at first."

Harrison added that he didn't know Bankman-Fried well enough personally or had "no real time to think about the matter", but he had a professional relationship with the founder of FTX FTT/USD and disagreed with a number of decisions he made regarding the management of the business.

Bahamas' decisions came without warning

Describing his first few months in the business as "wonderful", Harrison said that while Bankman-Fried was rarely involved in the affairs of FTX US, decisions affecting FTX US would come, without warning, from the Bahamas. .

He added that things started to change six months after he joined the company.

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Harrison began to advocate strongly for establishing separation and independence for FTX US's executive, legal, and development teams, but Bankman-Fried disagreed.

Harrison said, "I saw in that first conflict his utter insecurity and his intransigence when his decisions were questioned, his viciousness and the volatility of his temper. I realized he wasn't the one I remembered.."

Consequences of a disagreement with Bankman-Fried

Harrison also pointed to the pressure that comes with his disagreement with Bankman-Fried.

"Dealing with an insecure and proud manager is difficult under any circumstances. But it's nearly impossible when every day every major voice of culture and business deafens you with a narrative that implies if you disagree with your manager, you must clearly be wrong,” he said.

He further noted that he was not the only one at FTX US to disagree with Bankman-Fried and that FTX US was made up of experienced professionals from financial firms, US regulated law firms and exchanges. .

“Our collective experience and professional sense were often treated as irrelevant and worthless. It was extremely frustrating for all of us,” Harrison said.

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