In this episode of pplpod, we break down the spectacular rise and catastrophic fall of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried that went from a $32 billion valuation to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022,. We explore how a company that once held naming rights to the Miami Heat’s arena and boasted celebrity endorsements crumbled in less than a week following a "run on the bank" triggered by rival exchange Binance,,.

Tune in as we discuss:

• The Catalyst: How a CoinDesk report on Alameda Research’s balance sheet exposed the dangerous entanglement between the hedge fund and the exchange,.

• The Fraud: The "complete failure of corporate controls" that allowed billions in customer funds to be secretly funneled to Alameda for risky investments,.

• The Fallout: The contagion that hit firms like BlockFi and Voyager, and the legal reckoning that led to prison sentences for executives including Caroline Ellison and Ryan Salame,,.

• The Recovery: How the bankruptcy estate managed to recover billions to repay customers, .