Sam Bankman-Fried threw around millions as he sought aggressive pro-crypto regulatory changes — now his firm is bust.
By Andrew Perez, Rebecca Burns & Matthew Cunningham-Cook, The Lever
In April, when cryptocurrency guru and Democratic mega-donor Sam Bankman-Fried described how crypto tokens work on a Bloomberg podcast, the host remarked that it sounded a lot like being “in the Ponzi business.” Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, replied that this was “a pretty reasonable response” with a “depressing amount of validity.”
The conversation — which occurred days after one of the industry’s top regulators in Washington tweeted a picture with Bankman-Fried — probably should have set off blaring alarm bells throughout Washington, D.C., and the financial industry. It didn’t.
On Friday, FTX, which previously had $16 billion in customer assets, and was valued at $32 billion in its most recent investor funding round in September, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. Bankman-Fried, 30, resigned as its CEO.
The collapse underscores how the $849-billion crypto industry — down by one fifth in the last week and from a high of $3 trillion a year ago — has been protected by regulators who are asleep at the wheel, while hapless ordinary investors, suckered in with slick ads from prominent celebrities and athletes, lose their savings.
Recent Posts
Opposition of Nuclear Power ‘Revival’ in New York Holds its First Forum
Take Action Now This first forum, a webinar on Jan. 15, was titled a “Symposium for Safe and Affordable Energy in New York” as part of a series…
In Response to the Renee Good killing, Dems Propose ICE Reforms That Would Have Done Nothing to Prevent the Renee Good Killing
Take Action Now Good’s killer was a 10-year ICE veteran, himself a trainer, and recorded the killing. What good would more training and more cameras…
The Consequences Of Trump’s War On Climate In 7 Charts
Take Action Now Seven snapshots reveal how climate rollbacks altered the trajectory of U.S. energy, environmental protection, and economic security.……
Trump Received The Nobel Peace Prize From Maria Corina Machado. But Who Is She?
Take Action Now While Machado has played a pertinent and critical role for the US in causing chaos, disseminating propaganda, and pushing for regime…