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December 17, 2022by Laura Shin

The Chopping Block: Was FTX a Scam From the Very Beginning? – Ep. 433

Welcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, and Tarun Chitra were joined by Laura Shin to chop it up about the latest news. Show topics:

  • the details of the SEC and CFTC complaints
  • how crypto traders have always speculated about Alameda’s preferential treatment
  • whether many people knew about the mismanagement of funds and alleged fraud
  • why Haseeb thinks SBF was a “f*cking psycho”
  • how helpful Tarun believes a testimony from Sam Trabucco, former co-CEO of Alameda, would be
  • why Alameda and FTX lost billions of dollars, and the poor diligence of SBF’s venture investments
  • Sam’s “ineffective altruism” 
  • why a bull market wouldn’t have solved the insolvency problems of FTX
  • whether SBF will fight extradition and how long it would take
  • how Sam’s consistent use of Facebook and his anti-Maker stand shows he was not a crypto-native
  • why Laura thinks that The Block CEO’s undisclosed loans represent a “total betrayal”
  • Robert’s take on the ineffectiveness of the government’s control of information
  • why Binance is under scrutiny and whether it’s the “next FTX”

Hosts

  • Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital
  • Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures
  • Robert Leshner, founder of Compound 

Guest:

  • Laura Shin, author, host of Unchained

Episode Links

FTX:

  • Unchained:
    • CFTC and SEC File Damning Complaints Against Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX
    • SBF Denied Bail in The Bahamas, Will Remain in Fox Hill Prison
    • Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested Amid US Indictment
    • Bahamas Asked SBF to Mint Hundreds of Millions of Dollars’ Worth of New Tokens After Collapse, Say FTX Liquidators
    • SBF Directed $8B Alameda Liabilities to an FTX Account He Called ‘Weird Korean,’ Says CFTC
  • Forbes: Despite Boasting Of Big Profits, FTX And Alameda Lost $3.7 Billion Before 2022
  • Bloomberg:
    •  FTX Bankruptcy Standoff Heats Up as Bahamas Challenges US Case
    • Sam Bankman-Fried’s Harsh Bahamas Jail Could Shift His Stance on Extradition
  • Fortune: Sam Bankman-Fried indicted on multiple conspiracy and fraud charges by U.S. officials
  • Previous coverage of Unchained on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX:
    • 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

Binance:

  • Unchained: Binance Passes Withdrawal ‘Stress Test’ After $3B in Daily Outflows
  • Forbes: Kevin O’Leary Points Finger At Binance For FTX Crash In Senate Testimony

The Block

  • Unchained: The Block CEO Steps Down After Revealing He Was Secretly Funded By SBF

Posted in: 2022, Shows, The Chopping Block

Our guests on this episode:
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital

Haseeb Qureshi

managing partner at Dragonfly Capital

Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Tarun Chitra,

Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Robert Leshner, founder of Compound

Robert Leshner

founder of Compound

Laura Shin, Journalist, Author, and Unchained Host

Laura Shin,

author of The Cryptopians

© Copyright 2022 – 2023 Laura Shin Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Website by Zach Swinehart.

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Unchained Podcast

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