Sam Bankman-Fried Whisperer Tiffany Fong Spills Some Tea - Ep. 574
Nov 24, 2023
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Tiffany Fong, known for sharing leaked documents with The New York Times and forming a relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried, discusses her unconventional route to crypto fame. She lost money in the Celsius bankruptcy, started a YouTube channel, and connected with other affected customers. She shares details of her evolving friendship with SBF during his house arrest, their conversational interactions, and the possibility of Sam appreciating her independence. Uncertain about her future plans, she reflects on her unexpected journey in cryptocurrency and concerns about her current content direction.
Tiffany Fong developed a friendship with Sam Bankman-Fried, going beyond the case and discussing topics like mental health, family, and relationships.
Tiffany Fong started her crypto journey after losing most of her savings in the Celsius bankruptcy, and actively covered the scandal through her content creation.
Tiffany Fong leaked internal documents to the New York Times, gaining attention for her coverage of the Celsius bankruptcy.
Deep dives
Tiffany Fong's Relationship with Sam Bakeman
Tiffany Fong shares her experience of developing a friendship with Sam Bakeman, the central figure in the San Bakeman Free case. She discusses how their conversations went beyond the case and delved into mental health, family, and relationships. Tiffany admits that calling Sam a friend may not be well-received, but she considers him one.
Tiffany's Background and Online Ventures
Tiffany Fong, a crypto content creator, shares her background and how she got into crypto. She reveals her experience of studying communications in college and later setting up online stores, which still generate passive income for her. Tiffany also discusses how she initially lost most of her life savings through the collapse of Celsius, leading her to actively cover the scandal.
Tiffany's Leak of Celsius Documents
Tiffany Fong recounts how she started her YouTube channel and began posting about her experience of losing money in Celsius. She started receiving leaks from employees inside the company, leading her to share audio files of internal meetings. Tiffany eventually leaked these documents to the New York Times, attracting further attention to the Celsius bankruptcy.
Tiffany's Interaction with Sam Bakeman Free
Tiffany Fong recalls her first interaction with Sam Bakeman Free, the founder of FTX. She explains how he started following her on Twitter after her coverage of the Celsius scandal. This led to additional conversations and subsequent interviews during Sam's house arrest. Tiffany emphasizes that their relationship had elements of both friendship and journalism.
The DOJ's Outreach to Tiffany
Tiffany Fong describes how she was contacted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for information related to the Sam Bakeman Free case. She expresses her fears and anxiety about this outreach and ultimately sought legal counsel. Tiffany elected not to provide any information to the DOJ, as she did not want to secretly cooperate against Sam, whom she considered a friend.
Tiffany Fong has had an unusual route to crypto fame. After losing most of her life savings in the Celsius bankruptcy, she began posting on YouTube about her experiences and eventually received some leaked documents, which she shared with The New York Times and on her channel. The leaks gave her some visibility, and that’s when Sam Bankman-Fried began following her on Twitter.
Fong unexpectedly managed to carve out a relationship with the one-time crypto mogul, and after he was arrested last November, she chatted often and even met with him while he was under house arrest. From there, she became known for posting details of her conversations with Bankman-Fried and documents he shared with her, and went on to attend every day of his trial in person and do videos on them.
On this episode of Unchained, Fong shares why she thinks SBF opened up to her, whether she ever had a romantic relationship with him, her unpleasant encounter with Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother at the trial, why she doesn’t really consider herself a crypto influencer, and what her plans are now that the trial is over.