In a public statement today, Temasek disclosed that it has invested $210 million for a 1% in FTX International, and another $65 million for a 1.5% stake in FTX US. The investments occurred across 2 funding rounds from October 2021 to January 2022.
“There have been misperceptions that our investment in FTX is an investment into cryptocurrencies. To clarify, we currently have no direct exposure in cryptocurrencies,” the company said.
Temasek emphasized that the $275 million loss represents a negligible share of the fund’s portfolio — precisely 0.09% of its net value of S$403 billion ($294 billion) as of March 31, 2022.
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“In view of FTX’s financial position, we have decided to write down our full investment in FTX, irrespective of the outcome of FTX’s bankruptcy protection filing,” the statement read.
The company also stressed that it conducted "an extensive due diligence process on FTX, which took approximately 8 months from February to October 2021, having thoroughly examined the exchange’s financial statements, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity. At the same time, Temasek acknowledged that the failure of their investment was caused by putting too much trust in Sam Bankman-Fried’s leadership.
“It is apparent from this investment that perhaps our belief in the actions, judgment and leadership of Sam Bankman-Fried, formed from our interactions with him and views expressed in our discussions with others, would appear to have been misplaced,” the fund admitted.
Temasek becomes the latest in a string of companies battered by FTX’s collapse. The dramatic downfall of SBF’s crypto empire has already shaken the crypto industry, as several VC firms — including Sequoia Capital, Multicoin Capital, and Sino Global Capital — wrote off the value of their FTX holdings, while crypto lender Genesis halted customers’ withdrawals.
