Show Notes
Sam Bankman-Fried wasn't like other crypto moguls: he drove a Toyota Corolla, he was an advocate for government regulation, he said he would give billions away to charity. That is, until he lost it all in what has been called “one of history’s greatest-ever destructions of wealth.”
Sam Bankman-Fried, aka SBF, had an empire. His cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, and hedge fund, Alameda Research, together were worth billions. Celebrities sang his praises, and politicians took his donations.
Then, it all collapsed – almost overnight. There were millions of FTX customers. Now, they don’t know where their money is.
Host Jacob Silverman, co-author of a forthcoming book about crypto and fraud, takes a closer look at the hype around SBF and FTX, and how it only grew, even as other crypto companies crashed around them. How powerful was Sam Bankman-Fried? And how did he initially manage to hang on, to thrive even, as other giants tumbled towards bankruptcy?
More from The Naked Emperor
A former American IRS investigator responsible for some of the earliest dark market takedowns has been in Nigerian custody since February. Neither Nigerian nor the US authorities seem to be distinguishing Tigran Gambaryan from Binance, the company where he works. The Click Here podcast from Recorded Future News is a bi-weekly tech news podcast and this episode features Jacob Silverman, the host of The Naked Emperor: Understood to help dive into this story. More episodes of Click Here are available at: https://therecord.media/podcast
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Entering his second term stronger than ever, Modi can wield his power in ways that shock many inside India and out. There are crackdowns on dissent at home and accusations his government is tied to assassination plots abroad. His government denies these allegations, but the question remains: how far will Modi go to stop those who challenge him?
Narendra Modi is the most popular political leader on the planet. His supporters boast that he’s transformed India’s economy – it’s now the world’s fifth largest, surpassing its former colonial ruler, Great Britain. How did Modi shake off the memory of deadly religious riots to win the devotion of hundreds of millions of Indians across the country and the world?