This Week in Startups

Inside crypto’s wild rise and fall with “Number Go Up” author Zeke Faux | E1807

Sep 12, 2023

55:02

Snipd AI

Zeke Faux, author of 'Number Go Up,' discusses crypto's rise and fall, learning to play the game, red flags at Tether, and investigative journalism in Cambodia.

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Quick takeaways

The deception and unethical practices at FTX, where customers lost their money while the CEO profited elsewhere, questions the ethics and regulation of the crypto industry.

Tether's lack of transparency, questionable investments, and potential involvement in illegal activities highlight the risks posed by unregulated cryptocurrencies like Tether.

The combination of privilege, high aspirations, and an unregulated environment in the crypto industry led to reckless risks, illegal activities, and a lack of credible product offerings.

Deep dives

The Suspicion and Deception Surrounding Crypto

The podcast episode discusses the speaker's initial suspicion of crypto and his conversation with Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX. While the speaker was skeptical of Sam's claims of being an effective altruist, he did not suspect the extent of the deception happening at FTX. Sam was running a crypto gambling platform where customers would likely lose their money, while he himself was taking the money and gambling it elsewhere, resulting in customers losing everything. The speaker emphasizes that no one saw this coming, and it raises questions about the ethics and regulation of the crypto industry.

Introduction

3min

The Motives and Mindset

6min

Privileged individuals involved in a collapsed company and the importance of compliance

5min

Speculation and the Effects of Drugs

8min

Speculation, Ponzi schemes, and the questionable operations of Tether

6min

Uncovering the Red Flags Around Tether and Investigative Journalism

8min

Advising VC-backed High Growth Startups: From Accountant to Trusted Advisor

2min

Unveiling Chinatown: Exposing Illegal Activities in Cambodia

18min

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Today’s show:

Zeke Faux, the author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall,” joins Jason to discuss crypto’s crazy rise and fall (3:58), how SBF learned to play the game (16:22), red flags at Tether (26:13), and so much more!

Time stamps:

(0:00) Zeke Faux, the author of “Number Go Up” joins Jason

(3:58) Meeting Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas and first impressions

(10:23) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist

(11:30) SBF, his colleagues, and a hint of substance abuse

(16:22) The group psychosis and how they learned to play the game

(24:51) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(26:13) Operations and red flags at Tether

(35:44) CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech

(37:15) Revisiting Zeke’s investigative journalism in Cambodia

(44:16) From organized crime to legitimate business

(46:59) Terraform Labs and the collapse of Luna