The FTX business model was to initiate regulatory capture, spend a flood of money on the usual DC insiders to make all competitors DeFi illegal in the USA, then

The FTX business model was to initiate regulatory capture, spend a flood of money on the usual DC insiders to make all competitors DeFi illegal in the USA, then they just happen to soak up all the profits. It would have worked out fine if they had just held it together until after they hired the US Gov to put all their competitors out of business. They would have been too big to fail and these smaller numbers could all be swept under the rug by larger numbers. Well, startups lose money until they make money of course. One of the guys who's company was about to get shut down by the legislation FTX was purchasing, decided to out FTX's questionable balance sheet (if he's taking us out, then we're taking him out first...), and the rest is history. If you pay the right people, the us government strongly supports anticompetitive policies. That side of the story was going to be very profitable.