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SBF
Book

SBF

How The FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto's Very Bad Good Guy

Wiley, 2023 more...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

The saga of Sam Bankman-Fried, known as “SBF,” is a cautionary tale centered in either the still-emerging or the now-collapsing universe of cryptocurrency. SBF and his team’s secret machinations drove their crypto exchange, FTX, into bankruptcy – but it failed only after their dealings came to light. Friedman also co-founded the trading firm Alameda Research, which lost money investing FTX customers’ funds without their knowledge. Alameda also accumulated more FTX exchange tokens than it could sell without deflating their value. Axios journalist Bill Daley details the events that led to SBF’s indictment, incarceration and trial, although his engrossing book ends before Friedman’s conviction, handed down on Nov. 2, 2023.

Take-Aways

  • Despite the claims of Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”) to the contrary, his companies – the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the crypto trader Alameda – were not separate entities.
  • FTX customers deposited funds in a bank account that Alameda allegedly controlled; Alameda reportedly used those funds without its depositors’ consent.
  • SBF made a significant investment in SushiSwap.

About the Author

Axios cryptocurrency reporter Brady Dale is a co-writer of the Axios Crypto newsletter.