4 ms·

Yea, this is more of a story of SBF and other crypto elites making a lot of donations to wealthy politicians, media companies, etc. who were hesitant to investi

Yea, this is more of a story of SBF and other crypto elites making a lot of donations to wealthy politicians, media companies, etc. who were hesitant to investigate them. Bloomberg apparently was presented evidence of the FTX fraud many months before its downfall which it didn't cover because it was bad for business. [1] This was also what happened in the Madoff case where outside investigators discovered the fraud and sent their pile of evidence to the Feds, who sat on it for years as the fraud expanded. [2] I bet we'll eventually see messages from SBF & Co. talking about Madoff specifically as a model for the scheme. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXzvVRw_Qgw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXzvVRw_Qgw [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Markopolos#Madoff_investigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Markopolos#Madoff_invest...

ejstronge 4y ago
It is hard to believe the claim in the video that ‘5 crypto ladies’ at Bloomberg passed on this enormous story absent evidence from the speaker. Regarding Madoff, there were indeed investigations after some of the complaints. Notably, these situations differ in that Madoff was a respected figure within the regulatory apparatus (but it’s hard to imagine that SBF holds sway over the editorial process at Bloomberg). It is true that the investigations into Madoff were ineffectual, at least according to reports I have seen
- nickpinkston 4y ago
  Yea, that's why I linked to the video (re: source is a single witness), but also SBF was definitely a powerful guy almost to the degree Madoff was, and we already see publications like the NY Times covering for SBF [1], so I don't see that as a big jump. I have a personal journalist friend whose editors didn't let them cover Theranos before the WSJ broke the news for similar reasons, so it's not out of the question. Not to mention the regulatory apparatus and Congressional inaction. [2] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqDJ6Ph8r9o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqDJ6Ph8r9o [2] https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/ftx-crypto-collapse-binance-congress-regulation-sbf/ https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/ftx-crypto-collapse-binance-c...

ejstronge 4y ago

It is hard to believe the claim in the video that ‘5 crypto ladies’ at Bloomberg passed on this enormous story absent evidence from the speaker. Regarding Madoff, there were indeed investigations after some of the complaints. Notably, these situations differ in that Madoff was a respected figure within the regulatory apparatus (but it’s hard to imagine that SBF holds sway over the editorial process at Bloomberg). It is true that the investigations into Madoff were ineffectual, at least according to reports I have seen

nickpinkston 4y ago
Yea, that's why I linked to the video (re: source is a single witness), but also SBF was definitely a powerful guy almost to the degree Madoff was, and we already see publications like the NY Times covering for SBF [1], so I don't see that as a big jump. I have a personal journalist friend whose editors didn't let them cover Theranos before the WSJ broke the news for similar reasons, so it's not out of the question. Not to mention the regulatory apparatus and Congressional inaction. [2] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqDJ6Ph8r9o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqDJ6Ph8r9o [2] https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/ftx-crypto-collapse-binance-congress-regulation-sbf/ https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/ftx-crypto-collapse-binance-c...