'I thought SBF was the Mark Zuckerberg of crypto,' says Anthony Scaramucci

Published at: Jan. 17, 2023

In a candid interview with Cointelegraph at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Anthony Scaramucci, cofounder of SkyBridge Capital, lambasted Sam Bankman-Fried and shed light on his crypto portfolio.

Scaramucci trusted the former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) of FTX, which imploded in late 2021. Scaramucci said in a panel preceding the interview that the “Ninth circle of hell” is reserved for SBF. He added further color to the comments in discussion with Cointelegraph:

“I actually thought he was the Mark Zuckerberg of crypto. I didn't realize he was the Bernie Madoff. And that's something I have to own. And so I own it.”

The “Mooch” as he is known, explained he's happy to speak about his mistakes in trusting SBF. “I like speaking about it because if I can prevent somebody else from having a calamity like that, just from learning from us, that's worth it to me,” he explained.

Scaramucci is currently working at clawing back his company’s share that FTX lost. He is confident that the 30% stake that FTX Ventures acquired would be returned sometime in 2023.

Speaking with Gareth Jenkinson, senior reporter at Cointelegraph, Scaramucci also divulged his crypto portfolio:

“I started marking Bitcoin investments in 2020. We then started buying Ethereum in the early part of 2021. We have some Solana, we have something called Algorand, which is a smaller layer one, but it’s got very good technology.”

SkyBridge Capital's investments in crypto may come as a surprise to a thought leader who once tweeted he “could care less” about Bitcoin (BTC). Indeed, since Scaramucci first tweeted about Bitcoin one decade ago in 2013, the currency is up over 1,000%.

@onlyonewowwow @obsoletedogma for the record, I don't know what a #bitcoin is and could careless. Caveat Emptor

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 12, 2013

Scaramucci concluded he had made many mistakes during his Bitcoin and crypto journey. It took him many years and interactions with leaders in the space, such as the Winklevoss twins, before he invested. He shared that “Skepticism is usually born from a lack of knowledge.”

“The more homework you do on the blockchain, the more you understand how the blockchain is going to be a very big part of our future.”

The Mooch is now a regular commentator on the crypto space, and recently shared 2023 price predictions for Bitcoin in the six-figure territory. The "mainstream" is yet to really get to grips with the blockchain, he shred

Ultimately, as more and more people begin to understand the importance of transacting with one another without a third party, the Bitcoin and blockchain space will take flight:

“When you understand the magnitude of that, it will be a wonderful layering mechanism that will lead to great economic efficiency and innovation. So that's why I'm in the space.”

According to Scaramucci, there is still plenty of room for growth in the Bitcoin, blockchain and crypto markets.