The former chairman of FTX US opens up about his feud with former Jane Street colleague Sam Bankman-Fried and predicts that the spot Bitcoin ETF will far surpass the record-breaking success of the Bitcoin Futures ETF.
But who is this person?
FTX US’s former boss Brett Harrison hasn’t said a word to Sam Bankman-Fried since he resigned during his two-month notice period, just months before the entire exchange imploded He told the magazine he didn’t. In the first place, it was difficult to even receive a message from SBF that he was resigning.
“I had to talk to other people in the company to officially resign. I wrote Sam a text and got a heart emoji back. “That was the last I heard from him,” Harrison declared.
Harrison and Bankman-Fried were colleagues several years ago at quantitative trading firm Jane Street, where Harrison saw his potential while teaching SBF in a programming course for traders. But on FTX, things between the two deteriorated very quickly.
Harrison claims it was due to Bankman-Fried’s inflated ego and reluctance to accept feedback or advice.
“Sam hated criticism and as a result he refused to communicate with me. That’s what made me decide to quit,” he says.
But Harrison said he had no clue that the storm was about to take the company, with FTX declaring bankruptcy just months after its exit from the U.S. exchange.
1/ Notice: I am resigning from my position as Chairman of . @FTX_Official. Over the coming months I will be shifting my responsibilities and taking on an advisory role within the company.
— Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) September 27, 2022
“The rest of us, especially in America, are blind. We were working with regulators, top lawyers, and having an entire organization fail because of one person’s greed is something that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”
But he believes justice was served in the recent fraud trial against his former boss.
“I think the result is absolutely just. And I am glad that justice was served quickly. “I think Sam should be held accountable for his actions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harrison wasted no time and started working on a new project.
He co-founded Architect.xyz, a DeFi platform focused on connecting diverse opportunities in the digital asset space for both institutional and retail investors.
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Harrison is somewhat smart and has a degree in computer science from Harvard University with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI). So who better to ask questions about the possibility of AI taking over the world?
“I don’t think AI is a threat to humanity,” he declared, noting that AI has been in development for much longer than people think.
“Many people are now encountering AI for the first time and are unaware of the decades of advancements that have gone into AI.”
Harrison is more concerned about humans using AI to commit fraud and make it easier for people to discover their identities.
“It’s really just linear algebra,” he says. “The idea that linear algebra is an existential threat to our survival seems somewhat fantastical to those who have been working in the field for a long time.”
Bloomberg is really into AI these days.
That’s not a bad thing, but is this really an accurate or representative description of what our company does? pic.twitter.com/z5IHSvp0fq
— Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) July 19, 2023
What gave you Twitter fame?
Harrison is a smart guy who posts interesting things on social media that he thinks people will like.
But let’s not ignore the fact that the FTX connection caused his follower count to skyrocket. His numbers hit a weekly high when FTX plummeted in November 2022, when he gained 2,140 followers, according to data from Social Blade.
Last January, his lengthy rant about leaving X attracted nearly 3 million views. He said he was not fired from his FTX gig. It wasn’t his dream job and SBF was an “insecure, egomaniacal manager”.
1/49 Many people have asked me questions about my time at FTX US and why I left. As I said earlier this week, I’m excited to share my experiences and perspectives publicly.
— Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) January 14, 2023
Content people can look forward to
If you scroll through Harrison’s timeline over the years, you’ll see that his glamorous lifestyle has toned down considerably since his FTX days.
At the time, he was often seen hanging out with celebrities and former prime ministers.
It’s much less important these days. In addition to talking about the market, Harrison has been sharing snippets of his family life lately.
He’s even been adamant about getting toys from FTX’s US offices, which somehow avoided the whole bankruptcy drama.
What type of content does he like?
Harrison loves Crypto X’s blend of genius and goofiness. He gains humor and high intellect every day.
“One of the things I love about Crypto Twitter is the perfect mix of highly intelligent cerebral and depraved memes, whether it be market structures or political commentary.”
But when we asked him about the accounts he was a part of, he wasn’t very forthcoming.
After a little research, I found that he was following 2,100 accounts. Guess which one of them is who? None other than Bankman-Fried’s friend Tiffany Fong.
It was an honor for me too. I truly admire both your talent and your meme game ❤️
— Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) September 27, 2022
Bitcoin prediction?
Harrison used to shy away from predictions, saying he never predicted what happened to him. But then things were going so well that everything changed.
At the start of 2021, I would have assigned a low probability to almost every important thing that happened in my life this year. I’m leaving tradfi after 11 years, and Sam will eventually hire me and help me build a new company. Cryptocurrency exchange plans to open a Twitter account…
— Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) December 31, 2021
Harrison declared that it is very likely that a spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved in the first quarter of 2024.
What is the price prediction? Harrison isn’t offering six figures right away.
“We assume there will be ETFs approved in the first quarter. I think something in the $50,000 to $55,000 range is pretty likely,” he said.
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He doesn’t think Bitcoin will hit six figures until “late 2024 or early 2025 at the earliest.”
He points to the Bitcoin futures ETF’s first day as a slight hint as to how bullish he is about the spot Bitcoin ETF.
“If you remember the day the Bitcoin Futures ETF was listed, inflows were the highest in the history of the ETF. “I think more records will be broken for spot Bitcoin ETFs.”
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Ciaran Lyon
Ciaran Lyons is an Australian cryptocurrency journalist. He is also a stand-up comedian and radio and TV presenter for Triple J, SBS and The Project.