Make Me Smart

Crypto goes to court

10.03.2023 - By MarketplacePlay

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Hey smarties! We recorded today’s episode before historic news broke that the House of representatives voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker. We’re monitoring the story as it develops and as the House figures out what comes next.

IIt’s Day 1 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial. Last year, The founder of FTX was charged with counts of fraud and conspiracy after his crypto exchange went under and investigators found that $8 billion in customer funds had gone missing.

Before his fall from grace, SBF had become one of the most powerful players in the industry. This has us wondering: Is crypto on trial along with Sam Bankman-Fried?

On the show today, Bloomberg’s Zeke Faux, author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall,” explains how the trial could play out, where crypto is today and whether it has a viable future, post-SBF.

Then, we’ll hear how companies can be held accountable for the junk they leave floating in space. And automatic enrollment in retirement savings plans has given millennials a boost in an economy where they haven’t generally had a leg up.

Later, we’ll hear from one listener on the overlap between colleges and trade schools. And another listener explains why he was wrong about music.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

“Who’s Rooting Hardest for a Sam Bankman-Fried Conviction? The Crypto Industry.” from The New York Times

“With SBF, Gisele, and Michael Lewis at Peak of Crypto Craze” from New York Magazine

“What Good is Crypto If Coin Prices Don’t Go Up?” from Bloomberg

“The FTX trial is bigger than Sam Bankman-Fried” from The Verge

“Mountain of FTX Evidence: Emails, Chat Logs, Code and a Notebook” from The New York Times

“Can FTX Be Revived—Without Sam Bankman-Fried?” from Wired

“Why Black investors are more likely to own crypto” from Marketplace

“FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023” from FEMA

“Dish Network Hit With Historic Fine Over Space Debris” from Gizmodo

“Millennials on Better Track for Retirement Than Boomers and Gen X” from The Wall Street Journal

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