To The Moon

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-ftx-meltdown

Precursor : please read linked article and form your own opinion first ok. Thanks.

Certainly by now, every investor would have come across news on FTX - World's ex-2nd largest crypto exchange.  

The news article managed to successfully provide a "personal", yet "objective" overview of how the entire saga unfolded. 

In addition, if sufficient news articles are read - some will become the missing pieces; that will eventually completes this "Huge" jig-saw mess that is still unravelling; even as I composed.

Simply put this is a case of a brilliant person becoming "too smart" for his & her own good.

Like all "inspiring" success stories (Facebook, Apple); it had always, always started small & in many ways idealistic. 

However as the pet project grow & grow & grow - the original do good, do well fades into the background as wealth, fame, greed and power comes knocking.

A characteristically-weak person like FTX's creator mr sam bankman-fried (SBF) will lose himself overtime with his four new found "friends".

How could he not have set himself up to "fail" ?

• He was young; when he became "successful".
• He had support from the Crypto community. CZ - Binance's creator became his friend and supported him (early on i guessed) by taking a stake in FTX early on.
• His two rounds of successful funds raisings from venture capital and hedge funds amounting to US$1.3 Billion emboldened him

Guessed he "changed" overtime and became "reckless, careless & callous" in the process.

Perhaps he also became greedy and anxious to want to be the #1 Crypto Exchange immediately as well - who knows right ?

Mixing business with politics ??

Political manoeuvre in-progress ?

https://cryptopotato.com/sam-bankman-fried-conspired-with-sec-for-special-treatment-us-congressman/#aoh=16693042683747&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fcryptopotato.com%2Fsam-bankman-fried-conspired-with-sec-for-special-treatment-us-congressman%2F

Above information (1) from Wikipedia and (2) from Cryptopotato were clues (maybe ??) of SBF making a politically tactical move to position FTX ? 

Is this the undercurrent tussle between him and CZ of Binance that led to CZ's immediate dumping of his US$2 Billion worth of FTT tokens ? {mentioned in linked document}

Has SBF underestimated the clout Binance wields and Changpeng Zhao (CZ) wields ?

Most definitely on hindsight now, no ?  Likely, his strings of successful funds raised have clouded his judgement and fuelled his greed.

What else is there to learn ?

As the FTX saga unfolds before our eyes, the observations I gathered (maybe wrong!) is that there seems to be too much of inter-trades or inter-investments within the crypto community.

Could this be the reason why when any one crypto establishment was shakened, there would be a domino-effect that reverberates through the community ? 

$15 Million is minimal exposure ??

• Aug 2020, FTX acquired Blockfolio, a cryptocurrency portfolio tracking app
• Jul 2022, FTX finalized a deal giving it the option to buy BlockFi for about $240 million; with a $400 million credit facility.
• Sep 2022, FTX.US won its bid at auction for digital assets of bankrupt crypto brokerage Voyager Digital
• Ambiguous relationship amongst FTX, FTX.US and Alameda Research.

Conclusion - too optimistic ?

I didn't like the optimistic ending of the article.  It has glossed over the massive losses suffered by the myraids of retail investors who in a moment of weakness (blinded by greed or ignorance ?) got sucked into this blackhole.

Is there really light at the end of the tunnel ?  

To find out, please read below article as well please ! https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/23/ftx-binance-crypto-market

Are you convinced or are you still a Crypto believer ?  Now confess in the Comments section below ?  Whahhha... joking.. still would like to know what you think ?  Thanks.

Please "Like" this post ok.  Thanks.  Rating is important to me... Thank thanks.

Matching song ?  Nothing Last Forever by Echo and The Bunnymen.  Dunno ? YouTube it..

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