I know you might be expecting me to write a long article about my thoughts on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX, but for me this is an easy one.
Sam Bankman-Fried committed fraud, and now he’s going away for 25 years.
Good!
No one is above the law. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and he did it anyway for whatever reasons. People lost their investments, even if the majority will be made whole again thanks to the rise in Bitcoin and the liquidation of investments FTX made in AI that have paid off handsomely. None of that negates the fraud Sam Bankman-Fried committed.
Full stop.
Sam Bankman-Fried showed such ingenuity and brilliance, and I WAS a fan of what he built, but it turns out he’s no role model. Reminds me of another genius who I thought could do no wrong, until he bought a social media company and proceeded to exert his right to free speech – turns out I just don’t agree with everything he says with that microphone so I’m not as big of a fan anymore.
I guess that’s the risk we take in admiring geniuses.
There’s a saying I love that goes something like “you should never meet your heroes”, because when you actually meet them IRL they’ll usually disappoint you
So best of luck Sam Bankman-Fried in federal prison. See you in 25 years!
