Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Reportedly Bought $10M of FTT in Acquisition Deal With FTX

SkyBridge Capital, the asset management firm of American millionaire investor Anthony Scaramucci, sold 30% stakes to the now-bankrupt Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire FTX in September before the exchange’s sudden liquidity crisis earlier this month at an undisclosed amount.

However, the investment came with a catch as the fund manager was required to purchase FTX token (FTT), the native cryptocurrency of the FTX exchange. The move aimed to improve the token’s price, people familiar with the matter said. 

SkyBridge Spent $10M on FTT Purchase

According to reports, Scaramucci invested $10 million in FTT to honor the deal with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who resigned from his CEO position after the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings at a United States court earlier this month.

SkyBridge disclosed it would use a portion of the funds it received from FTX to purchase $40 million worth of digital assets to add to its balance sheet as a long-term investment. 

However, with FTX now under the water, Scaramucci intends to buy back the 30% equity purchased by the exchange after his failed attempts to rescue the trading platform. 

“My legal team and my other partners are working to buy back that stake to take him off of our cap table,” Scaramucci said, referring to SBF.

Scaramucci Urges SBF to Tell the Truth

The American went on a rescue mission earlier this week to the Bahamas to meet SBF and left after realizing the actual state of the situation. 

“And then when I got to the Bahamas, it became clear, at least from some of the people that worked on the legal and compliance team, that perhaps there was more going on than it being a rescue situation. So when I left the Bahamas in the afternoon, I was actually distressed,” said Scaramucci. 

In the aftermath of the meeting, the SkyBridge CEO urged SBF to tell investors and regulators the truth about FTX’s collapse. Scaramucci said he wants to wait before calling the FTX debacle a fraud, noting that no one truly knows what is happening in the firm.