FTX customers who lost a fortune on the bankrupt exchange are doubling down on crypto
FTX's multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency blowup hasn't destroyed all faith in the industry.
In a new documentary premiering Monday, FTX customers, insiders and investors tell CNBC that despite not receiving a single dollar worth of cryptocurrency back, they're optimistic on the industry and plan to keep investing.
Evan Luthra, an app developer, entrepreneur and angel investor, told CNBC he lost $2 million dollars in the collapse of FTX. Luthra said he knew when FTX filed for bankruptcy in late 2022 that he wouldn't have «access to any of this money for the next few years.» He continues to speak at crypto conferences
«I do want everybody to understand that the mistake here was not bitcoin, the mistake was not crypto,» Luthra said. «The fundamental reason why we buy bitcoin, why we use bitcoin has not changed.»
Luthra said his hefty loss on FTX hasn't shaken his bitcoin bullishness.
«I know it's going to end up at over $100,000 sooner or later anyways, so for me it's a great buy,» he said. Bitcoin is currently trading at about $26,900, down from a high of about $69,000 in December 2021.
«All the success is made in the trenches, not when everybody's already celebrating,» he said.
FTX, once one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, spiraled into bankruptcy after its swift collapse last year. Shortly after, FTX investigators said they discovered $8.9 billion dollars in customer assets were missing from the exchange.
FTX founder and ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried faces seven criminal charges for fraud and violating campaign finance violations. He's pleaded not guilty to all charges. Jury selection begins in Manhattan on Tuesday.
At a bankruptcy hearing in April 2022, an attorney for FTX said $7.3 billion dollars
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