Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC - Ep. 403

Unchained

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, discusses his views on crypto regulation, macroeconomics, and the role of FTX in a decentralized industry.

Show highlights:

• whether the market has already bottomed and the influence of macroeconomics
• why Sam thinks regulation could have a significant impact on the crypto industry
• the impact of the Terra collapse, Sam’s thoughts on stablecoins, and the importance of disclaimers
• what the industry can do to prevent high leverage from crypto companies like Three Arrows Capital
• how crypto lenders should manage risk in a sustainable way
• whether the crypto collapses affected the opinion of lawmakers and regulators
• the topics and proposals that Sam is discussing with regulators and his philosophy on financial regulation
• what Sam thinks about building a centralized entity in a decentralized space
• what it would take for FTX to move back to the United States
• why Sam’s political donations more commonly support Democrats, among which are some prominent critics of crypto
• whether he makes political donations based solely on candidates’ crypto stances
• the role of FTX in the TradFi market and whether crypto and TradFi will evolve toward or away from each other
• concerns about potential conflict of interests between FTX and Alameda Research
• the impact of the Merge, the value proposition of Ethereum and whether it affects the narrative of Bitcoin as digital gold
• how FTX is positioning itself in this macroeconomic environment
• the type of acquisitions FTX is interested in

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Episode Links

Sam:

• Twitter

Bailouts and Acquisitions

• FTX raising $1 billion in funding
• FTX’s acquisitions had ‘mixed results’
• Voyager Digital Auction
• Celsius Possible Acquisition

Stablecoins and Regulation

• Bankman-Fried Says He’s ‘Surprisingly Optimistic’ U.S. Will Devise Crypto Rules Within A Year
• Stablecoin Draft Bill
• Yellen cites UST stablecoin risk after it loses its dollar peg
• Previous Coverage of Unchained on Stablecoins and Regulation:
• Why Senator Pat Toomey Thinks SEC Chair Gary Gensler Is Wrong About Crypto
• Why Terra Collapsed and Whether an Algo Stablecoin Can Ever Succeed
• 
  

Donations and Politics

• Giant crypto exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried promises to give away most of his $21 billion fortune
• Political donations
• Sam Bankman-Fried is Democrats' largest donor in May

Alameda Research Concerns

• Crypto Quant Shop With Ties to FTX Powers Bankman-Fried's Empire

Collapse of Crypto Companies

• Celsius bankruptcy filing
• Voyager Digital bankruptcy filing
• Three Arrows Capital bankruptcy filing

FTX proposal to clear derivatives

• New method of clearing
• Previous coverage on Unchained:
• FTX Wants to Compete with CME – Here’s Why It’s a Big Deal

Interest in buying Twitter

• Text messages reveal Sam Bankman-Fried's guru told Elon Musk the crypto billionaire was 'potentially interested' in buying Twitter

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