In SBF: How the FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto’s Very Bad Good Guy, accomplished crypto reporter Brady Dale presents an engrossing take on the spectacular and sudden implosion of FTX, Alameda Research, and their associated companies, as well as the criminal indictments of Sam Bankman-Fried and several of his associates. In the book, you’ll go beyond the salacious details and tawdry gossip to grasp the real lessons to be learned from one of the most dramatic corporate failures in living memory.
The author explores: - The often-confusing world of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance, offering a deep understanding of both industries - The history of Sam Bankman-Fried, what smart money players had to say about him in 2019 and 2020, and why many decentralized finance professionals considered him a “pirate” even before FTX and Alameda blew up - What the aggressive lobbying campaigns waged by FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried reveal about the latter’s motives and goals
An extraordinary account of almost unimaginable wealth, greed, and hubris, SBF is a can’t-miss account of a fascinating corporate tragedy that continues to unfold to this very day.
Table of Contents
Prologue ix
Timeline xv
Chapter 1 I Want to Believe 1
Chapter 2 The Third Turn: CZ 5
Chapter 3 The Second Turn: Unstablecoin 11
Chapter 4 The First Turn: The Miami Conceit 19
Part I Acquire 23
Chapter 5 A Portrait of Sam 25
Chapter 6 Crypto 33
Chapter 7 The Asia Trade 41
Chapter 8 Early Alameda 49
Chapter 9 The ICO Era 55
Chapter 10 Crypto Winter 61
Chapter 11 The Exchange Business 67
Chapter 12 Select Heists 73
Chapter 13 Market Making 79
Chapter 14 Beginning FTX 87
Chapter 15 For that, this (FTT) 95
Chapter 16 Uniswap and Decentralized Exchanges 103
Chapter 17 DeFi One Billion 109
Chapter 18 Rationalist Line of Thinking 115
Chapter 19 Black Thursday 121
Chapter 20 Liquidity Mining 127
Chapter 21 DAO Is the Way 135
Chapter 22 The Vampire and the Unicorn 139
Chapter 23 The Fuckup and the Savior 147
Chapter 24 DeFi Summer 157
Chapter 25 CREAM Finance 161
Chapter 26 Solana 167
Chapter 27 Market Cap 173
Chapter 28 Sam Coins 177
Chapter 29 Effective Altruism 183
Chapter 30 Reef Finance 189
Part II Star Power 195
Chapter 31 Celebrity 197
Chapter 32 Crypto Bahamas 205
Chapter 33 Cult of Sam 213
Chapter 34 Looks Fucking Good 219
Chapter 35 Savior Complex 227
Chapter 36 Politics 235
Chapter 37 House of Representatives 241
Chapter 38 Senate 249
Chapter 39 About Securities 255
Chapter 40 Departures 261
Part III Infamy 265
Chapter 41 Mango Markets 267
Chapter 42 Nine Days in November 273
Chapter 43 Alameda and the ftt Shuffle 285
Chapter 44 New Boss, First Day 293
Chapter 45 A Flood of Pure SBF 299
Chapter 46 Arrest 305
Conclusion 313
Index 321
