Investing in FTX and losing billions of dollars, founder of private equity fund Thoma Bravo vows to 'never touch' cryptocurrency again

According to CNBC, Orlando Bravo, founder of Thoma Bravo, a US private equity investment firm, stated that he learned many lessons from his failed investment in cryptocurrency exchange FTX and that he and his company will no longer be involved in cryptocurrency.

Orlando Bravo referred to FTX as "the world's most cutting-edge and advanced cryptocurrency exchange" over three years ago, when his company assisted in leading a $900 million investment in the exchange, valuing it at $18 billion. According to reports, Thoma Bravo's investment in FTX is $130 million.

However, FTX filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2022, with senior executives of the exchange accused of misappropriating over $8 billion in customer funds, and its founder Sam Bankman Fried (SBF) implicated in large-scale fraud and conspiracy crimes. In March of this year, a US judge sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison.

Bravo stated in an interview with CNBC last week that he and his company Thoma Bravo will permanently exit the cryptocurrency market after that disaster.

Once you make a mistake, once you suffer a loss in something, our philosophy and mine are to never touch it again, "Bravo said." Even if it turns out you missed out on a big market trend

Thoma Bravo was founded in 2008 and currently manages approximately $160 billion in assets. The company has risen in the technology field in recent years and has planned multiple multi billion dollar acquisitions, including cybersecurity software provider Proofpoint, property management software company RealPage, finance and supply chain software developer Anaplan, and expense management software company Coupa.

Despite the failure in investing in FTX, Bravo stated in an interview that the memory blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies still has prospects, but whether it is Bitcoin itself or companies in the field, Bravo will avoid further exposure.

Personally, I am a supporter of memory blockchain. I believe it is a powerful way to achieve many things, suitable for many application scenarios, and I have always believed in this, "Bravo said." From an investment perspective, when you make a mistake, you will probably let go and move forward

Related reports: "SEC reserves the right to oppose FTX restructuring plan; bankruptcy proceedings accumulate over 800 million magnesium", "FTX founder SBF trades rice in prison, claiming better arbitrage opportunities but still believes he is innocent", "Temasek arrests war criminals for FTX investment case, related teams and senior executives receive salary cuts"