Mr Bankman-Fried said for now he was not concerned about potential criminal or civil liability.

"There's a time and a place for me to think about myself and my own future," he said after starting and stopping several times. "I don't think this is it."

When asked if he had been truthful in his responses, Mr Bankman-Fried said he was as truthful as he knowledgeably could be. "I don't know of times when I lied," he said.

Though he did not provide evidence to support it, SBF said he believed FTX US was solvent and could in fact pay back American investors.

However, he says, he underestimated the sheer amount of cash needed to cover FTX customers' withdrawals - leading to a run on the exchange.

Many crypto firms have struggled with the downturn in the broader economy and amid concerns about the viability of crypto currencies more generally.

FTX declared bankruptcy soon after. Mr Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO on 11 November.

According to a court filing earlier this month, FTX currently owes its 50 largest creditors almost $3.1bn.

Mr Bankman-Fried had become well known in Washington DC as a political donor, supposedly supporting pandemic prevention and improved crypto regulation.

But in his talk with Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, Mr Bankman-Fried confessed much of his Washington DC work had been PR "masquerading as do-gooderism."