Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets - Ep. 419
Unchained
Intro
This chapter delves into the FTX collapse, a pivotal moment in cryptocurrency history, featuring an insightful dialogue between two experts on its causes and repercussions. It also offers a brief news recap and a comedic take on the events surrounding FTX and Binance.
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Episode notes
Erik Voorhees, founder of ShapeShift, and Jordan Fish, aka Cobie, crypto investor and host of UpOnly, talk about the collapse of FTX.
Show highlights:
- the links between FTX and Alameda
- what kickstarted the blowup of FTX
- why Erik and Cobie think that Bankman-Fried's behavior was “sociopathic”
- why the $10 billion hole is so shocking to Cobie considering the advantages that FTX had as a company
- whether this would have ever happened if the prices hadn’t plummeted in the bear market
- the tension between advocates of privacy and those who want to limit criminal activity
- why Erik believes that SBF’s donations to both political parties are bribery
- whether regulators can prevent an exchange from collapsing
- whether Changpeng Zhao did a better job at investigating FTX than anyone at the SEC
- the likelihood that this will result in criminal charges
- how blockchain technology is the solution to the problem of centralized exchanges doing things in the dark
- Tether’s decision to freeze USDT owned by FTX
- Erik’s response to Bitcoin maximalists who say FTX was caused by altcoins
- whether it is a mistake for exchanges to issue their own tokens
- how big the contagion could be in the industry
- why nobody should leave a significant amount of their net worth in a centralized exchange
- Erik’s message to regulators
- whether SBF was aligned with the values and the ethos of crypto
Thank you to our sponsors!
Erik:
- ShapeShift
- Previous Unchained episodes:
- Why ShapeShift’s Erik Voorhees Thinks Toxic Bitcoin Maximalism Is Bullshit
- Shapeshift’s Erik Voorhees on How Crypto Will Separate Money and State
Cobie:
- Substack
- UpOnly
- Previous Unchained episodes:
- Cobie and Chris Burniske on How to Navigate a Crypto Bear Market
Episode Links
Previous coverage of Unchained:
- Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC
- The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto?
FTX Collapse:
- FTX Tapped Into Customer Accounts to Fund Risky Bets, Setting Up Its Downfall
- SBF’s video talking to regulators
- Unchained coverage:
- FTX May File for Bankruptcy After Binance Walks Off the Deal
- FTX Needs $8B to Meet Investor Withdrawals: Report
- Tron Founder Justin Sun Says He Is Working With FTX on a Solution
- US DOJ Joins SEC and CFTC Probe of FTX
- FTX-Issued Wrapped Solana Tokens Could Add to DeFi Contagion: wBTC Creator
- Sequoia Capital Writes Off $214M FTX Investment to Zero
Binance’s dropped deal with FTX
- CZ’s announcement
- SBF’s announcement
- Binance’s merkle-tree proof-of-reserves
- Unchained coverage:
- Binance Set to Buy FTX Amid Liquidity Crisis
- SBF’s Net Worth Plummets 94% In One Day: Report
- There are Rumors that Alameda Went Down With 3AC in Q2
- Alameda Owes More Than $30M in DeFi Debt
- Coinbase and Genesis Declare No Exposure to Collapsing FTX
- Binance Might Have Triggered a Liquidity Crisis as FTX’s Main Wallet Lost 290K ETH in Two Days
- Binance to Liquidate Millions Worth of its FTX’s Token Holdings
- FTX’s Stablecoin Reserves Hit One-Year Low
- Alameda’s Balance Sheet Sparks Controversy
Crypto regulation
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