May 09, 2023

Writing the Book on FTX’s Downfall: ‘It Was All Just Sam’ - Ep. 490

1 hour 1 minute

Longtime crypto reporter Brady Dale has beat Michael Lewis to market with the first book on the dramatic collapse of FTX. In stores today, “SBF: How the FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto’s Very Bad Good Guy,” tells the tale of the outsized role that Sam Bankman-Fried played in the FTX-Alameda death spiral. Drawing on years of reporting and interviews with SBF himself, the book charts the rise and fall of the one-time crypto wunderkind. “It became clear to me that Sam got really addicted to fame,” said Dale.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:

Brady’s background and how he came to cover crypto

how covering the space for a crypto outlet is different from a more mainstream publication

how Brady was able to finalize his book so fast

what Brady’s favorite parts of the book are

who was really responsible for the collapse of the FTX empire

whether Sam Bankman-Fried will plead guilty

whether FTX will make a comeback

how SBF thinks differently from other people, and how it led to his downfall

why Brady thinks the “dot-com bust” for crypto has yet to arrive

whether crypto has betrayed its cypherpunk ideals

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Guests:

Brady Dale, writer and reporter at Axios, and author of “SBF: How the FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto’s Very Bad Good Guy”Previous coverage of Unchained on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX:

The Chopping Block: Was FTX a Scam From the Very Beginning?

How Much Prison Time Is FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Facing?

Why the Legal Process for FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried Could Take Years

The Chopping Block: SBF Wants to Win in the Court of Public Opinion. Will He?

Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion

Is the Collapse of Crypto Lending Over, or Is It Just Starting?

Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX?

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

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By Laura Shin

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