You can't just listen to what a liar says, then beleive the opposite. That's makes absolutely no sense.

You just need to understand their motivations as to why they would (or wouldn't) lie

SBF has little reason to lie here and what he's saying makes perfect sense.

He just wanted his "business" to be legitimate in the eyes of the law and be regulated he wanted it to, and to achieve the most legitimacy he tried to buy out both parties. Makes perfect sense.