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> I want to know what this kid is smoking. Too late I think. If you had joined FTX as an employee you would have received direct advice on what to smoke. :)

Melting_Harps 4y ago
> Too late I think. If you had joined FTX as an employee you would have received direct advice on what to smoke. :) If I'm not mistaken, their drug of choice was trans-dermal patches of Rx amphetamines. Just keep this in mind when we keep hearing about how ideal trajetory is to go to an Ivy League in order to be qualified for Vc money from the majors: Sequoia, Blakrock et al. I still cannot believe how easily they are getting off on such a blatant lack of due diligence in all of this; but I guess when he played the game and he knew who to pay off this is just the name of the game.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- lazide 4y ago
  What is there for them to ‘get off’ from? They are losing their money. Is investing in a barely veiled scam a crime?
  - maxbond 4y ago
    I think they mean from social reprisal rather than a legal one. If they invest in risky projects that turn out to be frauds (and sometimes it feels like everything Softbank is involved with is a fraud - WireCard, Greensill, WeWork, and now this), they probably aren't breaking the law (at least, we'd need a lot more evidence to conclude this is deliberate rather than reckless), but they enable a higher rate of fraud in society. Which sucks for those of us living in it, which is to say, everyone. I could see the argument for people saying, hey, gigantic VC firms, get your shit together, or we'll create a protest movement to shame you into it. Not because they're breaking the law, but because they're making messes which other people have to clean up.
    - lazide 4y ago
      That is typically called ‘reputational damage’, with the consequences being investors not giving them money to invest because they think they would lose it in another scam later. Which they are going to be suffering from (somewhat). Unless someone is picketing the line of investors lining up to give them money (how?), who/what is even going to be protesting?
  - Melting_Harps 4y ago
    > What is there for them to ‘get off’ from? Not to sound crass, but each other... and I mean that in every sense of the word, they felt they were the smartest people on Earth and spouting the EA narrative of solving the World's problems while simultaneously using their Ivy League connections and paying off who they had to keep paying themselves and living in some hedonistic debauchery in he Bahamas as they lived in some poly-amorous situation. > They are losing their money. Is investing in a barely veiled scam a crime? Their is about a billion of what were likely customer deposits missing, and no one knows who took it; the Bahama government stepped in and took what was left after the fact and started the bankruptcy. As for investing in a scam, well, they were funneling customer funds into Alameda so that alone is a breach of basic fiduciary trust in finance, so yes... it is a crime. The question is what will come from this, because the argument is that regulation is required when FTX and Alameda are both regulated and licensed proving the reality of a multi-tiered legal system that includes access to VC money, which as entrepreneurs we've been told is a meritocracy based allocation that is accessible to anyone with 'a better mouse trap' when it's clear that it isn't and never has been. I'm not sure we can get clear collusion charges for these VCs as of yet, but it begs the question of how blatant these connections and funding gets made made for the 'right' candidate with almost no scrutiny for those with political connections which in turn could curry favor at a later time.
    - lazide 4y ago
      You seem to be conflating investors with owner/operators? We’ll see what they knew and when, and if the VC firms knew of the specifics of the mismanagement of customer funds, then they’ll have some culpability. Otherwise, aren’t they another victim (albeit one that it’s particularly embarrassing that fell for it!) not a co-conspirator?
  - more_corn 4y ago
    The operators of FYX took billions in deposits and sent them secretly and illegally to a trading firm run by SBF’s ex-girlfriend or however they count their polyamorous lovers. Oh I seem to recall it’s something like paramour. And then sort of lost track of it all. Lol whoops. I’m pretty sure that should land the lot of them in jail. They’re not in jail yet so maybe they’re getting away with it so far.

Melting_Harps 4y ago

> Too late I think. If you had joined FTX as an employee you would have received direct advice on what to smoke. :) If I'm not mistaken, their drug of choice was trans-dermal patches of Rx amphetamines. Just keep this in mind when we keep hearing about how ideal trajetory is to go to an Ivy League in order to be qualified for Vc money from the majors: Sequoia, Blakrock et al. I still cannot believe how easily they are getting off on such a blatant lack of due diligence in all of this; but I guess when he played the game and he knew who to pay off this is just the name of the game.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
lazide 4y ago
What is there for them to ‘get off’ from? They are losing their money. Is investing in a barely veiled scam a crime?
- maxbond 4y ago
  I think they mean from social reprisal rather than a legal one. If they invest in risky projects that turn out to be frauds (and sometimes it feels like everything Softbank is involved with is a fraud - WireCard, Greensill, WeWork, and now this), they probably aren't breaking the law (at least, we'd need a lot more evidence to conclude this is deliberate rather than reckless), but they enable a higher rate of fraud in society. Which sucks for those of us living in it, which is to say, everyone. I could see the argument for people saying, hey, gigantic VC firms, get your shit together, or we'll create a protest movement to shame you into it. Not because they're breaking the law, but because they're making messes which other people have to clean up.
  - lazide 4y ago
    That is typically called ‘reputational damage’, with the consequences being investors not giving them money to invest because they think they would lose it in another scam later. Which they are going to be suffering from (somewhat). Unless someone is picketing the line of investors lining up to give them money (how?), who/what is even going to be protesting?
- Melting_Harps 4y ago
  > What is there for them to ‘get off’ from? Not to sound crass, but each other... and I mean that in every sense of the word, they felt they were the smartest people on Earth and spouting the EA narrative of solving the World's problems while simultaneously using their Ivy League connections and paying off who they had to keep paying themselves and living in some hedonistic debauchery in he Bahamas as they lived in some poly-amorous situation. > They are losing their money. Is investing in a barely veiled scam a crime? Their is about a billion of what were likely customer deposits missing, and no one knows who took it; the Bahama government stepped in and took what was left after the fact and started the bankruptcy. As for investing in a scam, well, they were funneling customer funds into Alameda so that alone is a breach of basic fiduciary trust in finance, so yes... it is a crime. The question is what will come from this, because the argument is that regulation is required when FTX and Alameda are both regulated and licensed proving the reality of a multi-tiered legal system that includes access to VC money, which as entrepreneurs we've been told is a meritocracy based allocation that is accessible to anyone with 'a better mouse trap' when it's clear that it isn't and never has been. I'm not sure we can get clear collusion charges for these VCs as of yet, but it begs the question of how blatant these connections and funding gets made made for the 'right' candidate with almost no scrutiny for those with political connections which in turn could curry favor at a later time.
  - lazide 4y ago
    You seem to be conflating investors with owner/operators? We’ll see what they knew and when, and if the VC firms knew of the specifics of the mismanagement of customer funds, then they’ll have some culpability. Otherwise, aren’t they another victim (albeit one that it’s particularly embarrassing that fell for it!) not a co-conspirator?
- more_corn 4y ago
  The operators of FYX took billions in deposits and sent them secretly and illegally to a trading firm run by SBF’s ex-girlfriend or however they count their polyamorous lovers. Oh I seem to recall it’s something like paramour. And then sort of lost track of it all. Lol whoops. I’m pretty sure that should land the lot of them in jail. They’re not in jail yet so maybe they’re getting away with it so far.