Crypto Contagion, Genesis, & the FTX-USDT Connection | Coffeezilla

Hidden Forces

Demetri Kofinas

Government, Business

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Episode 285 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Stephen Findeisen, a fraud investigator who goes by the pseudonym "Coffeezilla” and runs an eponymous YouTube channel dedicated to exposing scams, con artists, and fraudsters. His work has been widely covered in the media including on the BBC and VICE and Coffeezilla himself was recently profiled in a feature article for the New Yorker.

Stephen’s investigations into FTX, Tether, Digital Currency Group, and the continued fallout and contagion sparked by the collapse of Luna and other related crypto companies, hedge funds, and lending platforms are the subjects of today’s incredibly timely conversation.

Coffeezilla and Demetri recorded this episode on the afternoon of Friday, November 25th, and spent the first half bringing everyone up to speed on the latest developments. In the second hour, they do a deep dive into the crypto firm Genesis and its parent company DCG, including the important role played by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in serving as collateral for much of the firm’s counterparty exposure. They also devote a great deal of time discussing the stablecoin Tether, otherwise known by its acronym USDT and some of the recent revelations that have emerged from the FTX-Alameda bankruptcy. These revelations include suspicious and troubling connections between Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire, his political relationships, and the executives and proprietors of several corporate entities based both in and outside of the Bahamas, including a US Federally insured bank (Moonstone) in Washington state that has become the source of immense speculation.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

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Episode Recorded on 11/25/2022

Transcript

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0:00.0	What's up, everybody? My name is Demetra Grafinas and you're listening to Hidden Forces,
0:06.0	a podcast that inspires investors, entrepreneurs and everyday citizens to challenge consensus
0:13.1	narratives and to learn how to think critically about the systems of power shaping our world.
0:19.0	My guest in this episode of Hidden Forces is Steven Findyson, a fraud investigator who
0:24.2	goes by the pseudonym Coffee Zilla and runs an eponymous YouTube channel dedicated to
0:29.4	exposing scams, con artists and fraudsters. His work has been widely covered in the media,
0:35.7	including on the BBC and Vice, and Steven himself was recently profiled in a feature article
0:41.9	for The New Yorker. His investigations into FTX, Tether, Digital Currency Group, and the
0:47.9	continued fallout and contagion, sparked by the collapse of Luna and other related crypto
0:53.3	companies, hedge funds, and lending platforms is the subject of today's incredibly timely
0:59.9	conversation. Steven and I recorded this episode on the afternoon of Friday, November 25th,
1:06.5	and spent the first half laying the groundwork and bringing everyone up to speed on the latest
1:11.8	developments. In the second part of our conversation, Steven and I do a deep dive into the crypto
1:17.6	firm Genesis and its parent company DCG, including the important role played by the grayscale Bitcoin
1:24.6	Trust and serving as collateral for much of the firm's counterparty exposure. We also
1:30.0	devote quite a bit of time to discussing the stablecoin tether, otherwise known by its acronym
1:35.8	USDT, and some of the recent revelations that have come out of the FTX Alameda bankruptcy,
1:42.0	which point to some very suspicious and troubling connections between Sam Bankman Freed's empire,
1:48.4	his political relationships, and the executives and proprietors of several corporate entities
1:54.2	based both in and outside of the Bahamas, including a US federally insured bank in Washington
2:00.4	state that has become the source of immense speculation. If you want access to that part of the
2:05.8	conversation and you're not already subscribed to Hidden Forces, you can join our premium feed
	...

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