at a minimum the most egregious, large-scale case of business gross negligence that I have observed in my career
Oh. I guess he didn’t see the Fool’s transition to new software. 
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Kind of makes one wonder how much Ackman lost in the FTX meltdown.
–Peter
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So this Financial Times Interview with SBF published during headier days, and the four paragraphs I am screeshooting here, were red flags beating FTX investors in the face.
Think about this arrogance and unconscious sociopathy: SBF is talking about shitecoins in this Financial Times interview, and the whole time, he and his merry band of thieves were stealing the savings of users of his platform by converting their USD and other coins into his own shitecoin $FTT parked at Alameda. Oh, and no records on these transactions were kept anywhere, despite blockchains being made to insure accountancy, accuracy, and legitimacy.
The testicles on this sociopath resemble two Hindenburgs which have just ignited:
I cannot believe this guy is still free in the Bahamas.
**There are many complaints by FTX users/investors like this on Twitter. The class-action lawsuits will be massive judging by the anger I’m seeing displayed.
“I think Bankman-Fried is a criminal,” Moravec, who tweets about crypto and NFTs under the handle AdioKingeth, told The Post. “What he did is a complete meltdown of everything. And now he is out there on Twitter, apologizing. Nobody f–king cares. I didn’t mean to run you over and rob you. Does anybody care? That’s fraud, bro. He borrowed the money and couldn’t pay it back. That’s a crime.”
Moravec, 38, said that this disaster, plus that of other cyrpto exchanges going insolvent, have combined to leave him questioning the digital currency that he long embraced.
“Right now, I have very little crypto,” he said. “I probably have less than $100,000 worth of coins. Eighteen months ago, I had $3.5 million in coins. I cashed out, and lost somewhere in the $500,000 range due to exchanges busting out. You play this game and are willing to win and lose. But we were playing a game we could not win.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, said that he will testify next week before the House Committee on Financial Services.
The decision follows a back-and-forth on Twitter between Mr. Bankman-Fried and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the chair of the committee. Earlier this month, he declined to testify, saying that he wanted to wait until he finished learning and reviewing what caused FTX’s swift downfall last month.
Ms. Waters pushed back on that, tweeting earlier this week: “Based on your role as CEO and your media interviews over the past few weeks, it’s clear to us that the information you have thus far is sufficient for testimony.”
Sam Bankman-Fried continues to try out his "Woah-Is-Me, I was not aware of . . . act on Twitter, but anyone with antenna for fraud has got to look at something like this and think, “Aha, pay for play.”
(Who needs to advertise when you can find many a willing dupe in social media and blogging media to carry your message to the masses? But only if the Price is Right.)
This guy has single-handily destroyed more young investors than any other fraud out there. There are people on Twitter who ruined themselves listening to SBF and all his bought off the shelves celebrities. (p.s. Did any of you catch that this idiot was pursuing Tyler Swift to endorse FTX and was offering her $100 Million?)
https://www.axios.com/2022/12/09/bankman-fried-funded-crypto-news-site-block
The Block, a media company that says it covers crypto news independently, has been secretly funded for over a year with money funneled to The Block’s CEO from the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency trading firm, sources told Axios.
Why it matters: The payments, which employees of The Block were previously unaware of, could undermine the news company’s credibility and cast doubt on its coverage of Bankman-Fried, the now-bankrupt FTX and Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s trading firm.
- One $16 million batch of funding from Alameda was used in part to finance the purchase of an apartment in the Bahamas for Block CEO Michael McCaffrey, according to sources familiar with the transactions.
I have never understood why people are influenced by celebrity endorsements. Your Swift example being a good one… Why would anyone invest based on an endorsement by Taylor Swift? Boggles the mind…
Rob
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
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The investing genius known as Agent K said it best. “People are dumb, panicky animals.”
–Peter
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Coinbase CEO boils it all down like many of us did weeks ago and he states what is obvious.
Netflix will have to ask Michael Lewis to turn this into a weekly series. "The Expanding Insanity{ will be right back after this word from our sponsor, Tramp Stamp Tattoo Removal.
About this story:
This analysis counts contributions and refunds from and to federal political committees disclosed as given or received by Bankman-Fried in reports filed with the FEC since 2020. This excludes contributions to joint fundraising and conduit committees to avoid counting the money again when those contributions were later transferred to campaigns and parties. This does not count money disclosed as given by other FTX employees, the company itself or any money given through groups that don’t disclose their donors.
To the uninitiated, the world of cryptocurrency exists on the outskirts of traditional finance. But every once in a while, more people catch a glimpse. This year’s coveted commercial breaks during the Super Bowl fit the bill, as several now-infamous ads featured stars hawking crypto. Larry David appeared in a spot for FTX, as did Matt Damon and LeBron James in Crypto.com clips.
By showing up in the most premium real estate in all of TV, and partnering with some of Hollywood’s most trusted brand ambassadors, the crypto firms bought themselves an air of credibility on the path toward legitimacy. Or, at least it appeared they were on their way there, until FTX — one of the world’s top digital currency-exchange platforms that also issues its own token called FTT — collapsed when customers made a run on the exchange amid a months-long crypto sell-off. On Dec. 12, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged and arrested for violations of securities laws, a month after he was sued in a proposed class action alongside stars who promoted the company.
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, faces a maximum sentence of 110 years in prison after striking a plea deal with the Justice Department.
That’s according to Ellison’s plea agreement with prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, dated December 18.
Ellison faces seven charges that collectively carry a maximum prison sentence of 110 years. These include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud. She also faces a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Per her deal with prosecutors, she also agreed to pay restitution, the amount of which the courts will determine.
Now that would be a feat!
I’ll be interested to find any perspectives from legal experts on her likely prison term given the plea deal and cooperation.
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Sam Bankman-Fried cultivated ties with A-list celebrities, politicians and investors alike — but one power couple in particular was key to boosting his profile in influential and moneyed circles.
Bill Clinton was paid north of $250,000 when he spoke at the disgraced FTX CEO’s Crypto Bahamas Conference in April, sources told The Post. At the over-the-top tropical shindig, the ex-US president along with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair were famously photographed onstage next to Bankman-Fried, who appeared wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
Shortly thereafter, Bill and Hillary Clinton invited the 30-year-old Bankman-Fried — known as “SBF” in crypto circles — to speak at their annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York — an effective endorsement of the former FTX CEO that played a pivotal role in elevating his reputation among politicians and deep-pocketed investors alike, insiders told The Post.