Instead of current events, let's take a snapshot look at one of the digital asset space's most distinguished figure, who just turned 30 this year. Ladies and gentlemen, Sam Bankman-Fried.
Probably one of the only players associated with a centralized exchange, FTX, who still gets respect in the Cypherpunk community. Even though SBF's contemporaries set a low standard of ethics ( Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celcius, who is now under the FBI's close watch, and Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, who plans to sell analytic data licenses to the the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Drug Enforcement Agency for customer data access), Bankman-Fried continues to set the gold standard as an ethical leader in this unique space.
Sam was born March 6, 1992, to two Standford Law professors. In fact, SFB, as he goes by, was born on the campus of Standford Law. SBF had a talent for mathematics in high school; he attended MIT from 2010-14, graduating with a major in physics and a minor in mathematics.
Before founding Alameda Research in November 2017, SBF worked for Jane Street Capital the summer before his senior year of college and immediately after graduating. He describes his time at Jane Street as a "wonderful experience," he left with crucial financial experience that would build a foundation to what SBF has done with the digital asset market. For 2 months; before founding Alameda, Bankman-Fried worked in Berkley at the Centre for Effective Altruism as the Director of Development. I believe this experience is one of the factors that sets SBF apart from other exchange CEOs. Although Sam Bankman Fried was the richest person under 30 (up until he turned 30 in March of this year); SBF wants to make a positive impact that's shines over his net worth.
After launching Alamedas Research as a crypto trading firm, Bankman-Fried found that the demand for cryptocurrencies was outstripping the supply; therefore gains could be made through short term holds. Alameda Research noticed in particular that demand in Asia was higher for Bitcoin, particularly in Korea, where a bitcoin that was selling in the US for $10,000 could be sold there for $15,000. SBF took advantage of this arbitrage opportunity, which became known as the Kimchi premium. Although the Kimchi premium was the highest paying swing, SBF and Alameda Research were able to find arbitrage opportunities in spreads from US to Asian crypto currency prices. This is how much of SBF's wealth and the start up funds for FTX exchange were built.
FTX launched in 2019 and has since grown to be the 4th largest cryptocurrency exchange outside of China, and has grown to have a slew of celebrity partners, including but not limited to, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Kevin O'Leary, and David Ortiz. Their company name can be seen on the polos of MLB umpires, and the big screen at the Golden State Warriors games.
Most recently, SBF has been in the news for his words and actions on "crypto bailouts." Alameda Ventures has agreed to a $200M/15k BTC bailout to Voyager Digital, while FTX has provided Blockfi with a $250M credit line. SBF's intentions are to get both of these entities to the point where they can "navigate the market from a position of strength," after suffering losses due to 3AC's negligence.
SBF's gesture towards Blockfi and Voyager Digital exemplifies Bankman-Fried's altruism IRL. To Bankmen-Fried, altruism isn't just some marketing fantasy, and he'll put his wallet where his mouth is. "We take our duty seriously to protect the digital asset ecosystem and it's customers." SBF's sentiment is such a difference from the toxic battling of other entities within the space.
And this attitude and outlook, Ladies and Gentlemen, is going to be the only attitude that survives this downturn.
Sam Bankman-Fried currently resides in the Bahamas. Legend has it, he requires beanbags in every office. I've noticed he's called out a few crypto media outlets for misrepresenting his words to make headlines. I respect that, and I think that us, fellow authors, have a duty to respect SBF and the space as much as he does, and make sure that our work is cited and accurate.
Thank you for reading. Keep most of the tip, and follow me here and on Twitter @cryptopotestas.
