The Fallout From the Crypto Crisis Is Spreading Across the Crypto Industry

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FTX is one of the biggest and best known crypto exchanges. It's run by Sam Bankman Free, who was worth about $26 billion at his peak. He'd also spent some of that fortune on political donations in order to lobby Congress for regulation. FTX Global might not be able to meet customer withdrawal requests but it might not be liquid. That led to a sort of stampede of investors exiting. And eventually, FTX stopped meeting those requests and announced that it couldn't meet those anymore. This has led to all kinds of chaos incrypto markets.

At the start of this week, FTX was the world’s third-largest crypto exchange. After rumours of illiquidity swirled, customers pulled $6bn in assets. It now reportedly faces an $8bn shortfall, and the contagion is spreading. The Sama-Bajau have fished the same waters for centuries, but are citizens of nowhere, which makes their hard lives harder. And what Rishi Sunak can learn from his fictional predecessors. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer