Kevin Zhou, cofounder of Galois Capital, and Jesse Powell, cofounder of Kraken, talk about why FTX collapsed, the warning signs, and whether it’s a catalyst for self-custodial adoption.
Show highlights:
- the root causes of the FTX collapse, according to Jesse and Kevin
- whether there were warning signs of all the risks that were to come
- the importance of learning from mistakes, even for new people in the space
- Kevin's response to the stuck funds in FTX
- the debate about utilitarianism and SBF's effective altruism
- whether the philosophy behind founders matters
- Kevin's and Jesse's theories of how FTX and Alameda lost billions of dollars
- how Alameda and FTX's books were commingled
- whether people will start using self-custodial wallets
- whether the fall of FTX vindicates BTC maximalism
- whether regulation has been beneficial or harmful for American customers
- the role of venture capital firms and their "mixed incentives"
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Kevin:
- Previous Unchained episodes:
- How Traders Are Thinking About the Merge — and a Potential ETHPoW Chain
- Why Kevin Zhou Believes Ethereum Will Have 3 Forks After the Merge.
- The Chopping Block: Kevin Zhou on Why He Knew Terra Would Crash
Jesse:
- Previous Unchained episodes:
- Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, on Drawing a Line With Regulators
Episode Links
Previous coverage on Unchained of FTX:
- Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX? – Ep. 422
- The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn’t Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater
- Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets
- The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto?
- Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC
FTX Collapse:
- First declaration document
- Unchained: FTX Bankruptcy Overseer Says Company’s Collapse Is Worst He’s Ever Seen
- Unchained: Bahamas Regulator Directed SBF to Transfer FTX Assets to Government Wallet
- SBF tweet: FTX files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
- Vox interview with SBF: Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself
- NYT: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire Collapsed
- Bloomberg: Crypto Hedge Fund Galois Confirms $40 Million Exposure to FTX
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