FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is on a media tour against the advice of his lawyers and despite facing civil suits and potential criminal investigation into the downfall of his crypto empire.

• Bankman-Fried admitted in an interview with Axios Pro Fintech Deals co-author Lucinda Shen that FTX's multitude of licenses were "corporate bullshit," but swears his effective altruism quest was genuine.

Why it matters: The FTX founder and former CEO crafted an image as a rumpled, slightly mad wunderkind, napping on office beanbags and wearing shorts to meetings.

• But that image was ripped to shreds after FTX fell apart and was blitzed into a pulp after a Twitter DM conversation with Vox reporter Kelsey Piper in which Bankman-Fried appeared to throw cold water on the virtue of being ethical.
• Now he appears to be trying to create a new image as a founder who genuinely cared about his customers but was incompetent rather than one who had intentionally committed fraud.

The big picture: Bankman-Fried, among the world's richest people earlier this year, now says he has just $100,000 to his name. "Basically everything I had was just tied up in the company," he told Axios.

• He says FTX went too far with some of the licenses it acquired —licenses that created the image of being a highly regulated exchange.
• Bankman-Fried wishes he had put in place a third party between his trading firm, Alameda Research, and FTX.
• And he isn't sure what happened with the Alameda Research-controlled stake in Twitter.

What's next: Bankman-Fried is a headliner for today's N.Y. Times DealBook summit, helmed by Andrew Ross Sorkin.

• Sign up for Axios Pro Fintech Deals.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) became the first Black leader of a party in Congress today when he was elected by his colleagues to serve as House minority leader.

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2. The House passed legislation to avert a nationwide rail strike. Go deeper.
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4. 🥖 The baguette is now on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Traditional tea-making practices of China and cold noodles from North Korea were also added. Go deeper.

A Texas construction firm is partnering with NASA to figure out ways to build on the moon as soon as 2026, Axios Austin co-author Asher Price reports.

• ICON engineers will use lunar dust and broken rocks with simulated lunar gravity to determine their mechanical behavior.

Why it matters: "The final deliverable of this contract will be humanity's first construction on another world," ICON CEO Jason Ballard told Axios.

• Company officials say the findings will inform future lunar construction for critical infrastructure, like landing pads, blast shields and roads.

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