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Unchained

Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion - Ep. 423

Unchained

Laura Shin

Tech News, Business News, News

4.61.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2022

⏱️ 81 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kevin Zhou, cofounder of Galois Capital, and Jesse Powell, cofounder of Kraken, talk about why FTX collapsed, the warning signs, and whether it’s a catalyst for self-custodial adoption.  Show highlights: the root causes of the FTX collapse, according to Jesse and Kevin whether there were warning signs of all the risks that were to come the importance of learning from mistakes, even for new people in the space Kevin's response to the stuck funds in FTX the debate about utilitarianism and SBF's effective altruism whether the philosophy behind founders matters Kevin's and Jesse's theories of how FTX and Alameda lost billions of dollars how Alameda and FTX's books were commingled  whether people will start using self-custodial wallets whether the fall of FTX vindicates BTC maximalism whether regulation has been beneficial or harmful for American customers the role of venture capital firms and their "mixed incentives" Take Unchained's 2022 survey!   Unchained is doing its annual survey. Tell us how you think we’re doing and how we could improve, whether it be on the podcast, in the newsletter, or in our premium offering. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!  Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Chainalysis Minima Kevin: Twitter Previous Unchained episodes: How Traders Are Thinking About the Merge — and a Potential ETHPoW Chain Why Kevin Zhou Believes Ethereum Will Have 3 Forks After the Merge. The Chopping Block: Kevin Zhou on Why He Knew Terra Would Crash Jesse: Twitter Previous Unchained episodes: Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, on Drawing a Line With Regulators Episode Links Previous coverage on Unchained of FTX: Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX? – Ep. 422 The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn’t Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater  Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto? Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC FTX Collapse: First declaration document Unchained: FTX Bankruptcy Overseer Says Company’s Collapse Is Worst He’s Ever Seen Unchained: Bahamas Regulator Directed SBF to Transfer FTX Assets to Government Wallet SBF tweet: FTX files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Vox interview with SBF: Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself NYT: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire Collapsed Bloomberg: Crypto Hedge Fund Galois Confirms $40 Million Exposure to FTX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Just a quick note that we're releasing what would typically be a Tuesday show on a Monday

0:04.8

due to the Thanksgiving holiday coming up.

0:07.2

But don't fret, we have a great conversation for you to tune into on Tuesday as well.

0:11.6

A special edition of the chopping block to go over the first day declaration in the FTX

0:15.9

bankruptcy, the U.S. vs. Bahamas jurisdictional battle, Genesis and crypto lending, and

0:21.3

all the other craziness that happened last week.

0:24.0

As for this episode, I reached out to Jesse Powell, co-founder of Kraken, who ran a centralized

0:28.5

exchange for a long time, and Kevin Sowe of Galwa Capital, who could offer his perspective

0:33.3

as a trader on FTX.

0:35.6

The two of them mentioned some past observations about FTX that, in hindsight, seems suspicious

0:41.7

plus discuss how Alameda, which had been seen as top traders, could have lost so much money.

0:48.0

As you might expect, Sam coins such as FTT played a big role.

0:52.2

I also asked Jesse for his views on not your keys, not your coins, since he is an exchange

0:57.6

owner, and we dive into how FTX's collapse reflects on the media, VCs, and regulators.

1:04.0

This was an incredible discussion, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

1:08.0

Hey everyone, just a quick note before we begin.

1:11.9

Unchained is doing its annual survey.

1:13.7

Head to surveymonkey.com slash r slash unchained 2022 to tell us how you think we're doing and

1:19.0

how we could improve, whether we're being on the podcast in the newsletter or in our

1:22.7

premium offering.

1:24.1

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

1:25.6

Again, the link is surveymonkey.com slash r slash unchained 2022, and you can also check

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