Sam Bankman-Fried admits his biggest regret during the collapse of FTX was relinquishing control of the company just hours before a potential lifeline appeared. In an interview with Mother Jones, Bankman-Fried explains that handing over the exchange to bankruptcy specialist John J. Ray III on November 11, 2022, cost him a last-minute deal that could have saved the platform. ‘The single biggest mistake I made by far was handing the company over,’ he said. Just moments after signing documents transferring control, Bankman-Fried claims he received a call about an external investment that would have plugged the $8 billion hole in FTX’s balance sheet. This opportunity missed its window and prompted Ray’s immediate Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing followed by Sullivan & Cromwell, who were hired to handle the proceedings.