(Bloomberg Opinion) — Anthony Scaramucci has declared that he will invest in a venture established by Brett Harrison, former President of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX US.
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Scaramucci expressed he would use his personal funds to back the company, which he stated in an email.
Harrison was reportedly seeking up to $100 million of financing for a crypto software firm. Bloomberg News reported last month, with two sources familiar with the matter indicating that the proposed plan was software that crypto traders could use for deploying algorithms and accessing various crypto markets.
“Anthony has been a true mentor and friend to me since I joined the crypto industry two years ago,” Harrison said in response to questions from Bloomberg News. “I am humbled to have him as an investment partner and I know his guidance will be invaluable as we embark on this new chapter.”
FTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of Sam Bankman-Fried’s now-defunct crypto empire, declared in September that it had purchased a 30% stake in Skybridge Capital from Scaramucci, also noting that they would boost their collaboration through venture investments as well as digital assets. Scaramucci and SkyBridge announced that they would buy the stake back amid FTX’s descent into bankruptcy, with Scaramucci later stating that he had looked into the matter, but “it wasn’t enough.”
Harrison was a FTX US employee for around 17 months, resigning in September. Before that, he had been at Citadel Securities and the quantitative trading firm Jane Street, where he had previously worked.
Scaramucci responded to an Twitter thread from Harrison detailing his experience at FTX US with a comment on the investment.
“Brett was a great developer and had a strong understanding of the FTX product,” Bankman-Fried commented to Bloomberg News on Harrison’s Twitter thread. “While I strongly disagree with much of what he said, I have no desire to enter into a public discussion with him, nor do I feel it is my place to litigate his job performance in public, unless he authorizes me to do so.”
Bankman-Fried added: “I feel bad for what happened to all of the FTX employees and I wish him the best.”
–With help from Annie Massa and Hannah Miller.
(Adds comment from Sam Bankman-Fried in the last two sentences)
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