FTX is or was a large cryptocurrency exchange kind of like the New York Stock Exchange But for tokens like Bitcoin and ether. The company abruptly announced it would be filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy And there's one dude behind FTX Yeah, Sam Bankman freed. My name is Sam and this is my story Sam has crazy hair. Sam sleeps five hours a night Sam lives in the Bahamas with 10 roommates, but Sam has 22 billion dollars Everyone in crypto land calls him SPF It made him on paper Fabulously wealthy FTX in its last fundraising round Was valued at 32 billion dollars.
With the collapse of one of its largest exchanges, crypto’s having its very own Lehman Brothers moment. Semafor’s Liz Hoffman explains the repercussions for the real world.
This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Amanda Lewellyn, edited and fact-checked by Matt Collette, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices