{"id":520790,"date":"2022-12-04T06:20:42","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T03:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/crypto-smart-money-big-traders-fell-for-sam-bankman-fried\/"},"modified":"2022-12-04T06:20:42","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T03:20:42","slug":"crypto-smart-money-big-traders-fell-for-sam-bankman-fried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/crypto-smart-money-big-traders-fell-for-sam-bankman-fried\/","title":{"rendered":"#Crypto \u2018smart\u2019 money? Big traders fell for Sam Bankman-Fried"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368be04e114\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368be04e114\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/crypto-smart-money-big-traders-fell-for-sam-bankman-fried\/#%E2%80%9CCrypto_%E2%80%98smart_money_Big_traders_fell_for_Sam_Bankman-Fried%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Crypto \u2018smart\u2019 money? Big traders fell for Sam Bankman-Fried&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/crypto-smart-money-big-traders-fell-for-sam-bankman-fried\/#Conflict-ridden_biz\" >Conflict-ridden biz<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/crypto-smart-money-big-traders-fell-for-sam-bankman-fried\/#Who_was_in_charge\" >Who was in charge?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CCrypto_%E2%80%98smart_money_Big_traders_fell_for_Sam_Bankman-Fried%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Crypto \u2018smart\u2019 money? Big traders fell for Sam Bankman-Fried&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Gasparino_Charles_headshot.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Charles Gasparino\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Gasparino_Charles_headshot.png?w=152 152w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Gasparino_Charles_headshot.png?w=114 114w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Gasparino_Charles_headshot.png?w=76 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Gasparino_Charles_headshot.png?w=38 38w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Gasparino_Charles_headshot.png 706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>I was shocked when I first learned how a hot mess like Sam Bankman-Fried got away with convincing so many seemingly smart people \u2014 big money managers, venture capitalists and all those celebrity ambassadors \u2014 that he was such a boy genius of investing, they should turn over lots of money for him to play with.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That is, until I witnessed what went down Wednesday after the fallen crypto star tried to explain his side of the FTX disaster to reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin. The missing billions in customer funds, ruined lives, etc., wasn\u2019t illegal, just one big, innocent mistake, or in his words, he \u201cscrewed up,\u201d the result of one \u201cbad month.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sounds absurd, right? Believe it or not, many sophisticated financial types say they still believe SBF\u2019s latest sales pitch, further proof that suckers are born every minute, and many of them occupy the C-suites of Wall Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Of course, not everyone in high finance bought SBF\u2019s shtick even when he was riding high. Veteran trader Marc Cohodes and Chicago Mercantile Exchange CEO Terry Duffy were early skeptics of his business prowess and how Bankman-Fried claimed he dedicated his entire life outside of crypto to some wokeish fad known as \u00ad\u201ceffective altruism\u201d \u2014 where he made money in order to give it all away.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-5.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Sam Bankman-Fried's minions gambled away customer funds in the global crypto casino.\" class=\"wp-image-24889046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-5.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-5.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-5.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s minions gambled away customer funds in the global crypto casino.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call\/Sipa USA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But they were among the lonely few who saw signs that something was amiss. Most of the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>, and far too many Big Finance types, didn\u2019t seem to give a second thought to his shambolic <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earance and odd demeanor. They thought it was endearing. They didn\u2019t think twice that relatively overnight he had become a billionaire and Democratic mega\u00addonor, giving big bucks to pols with oversight into crypto.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Buying influence is OK, I guess \u2014 as long as it involves Democrats.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conflict-ridden_biz\"><\/span>Conflict-ridden biz<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>They certainly paid no heed to his conflict-ridden business model: the risk-taking prop-trading fund Alameda Research \u2014 known for taking too much risk \u2014 attached to his FTX crypto exchange that was supposed to keep customer deposits safe. That\u2019s something that was almost designed for failure, which is exactly what happened as SBF\u2019s minions gambled away customer funds in the global crypto casino.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Sam Bankman-Fried\" class=\"wp-image-24889036\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Sam Bankman-Fried claimed he \u201cmisaccounted\u201d $8 billion in FTX funds.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">via Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even worse, some members of the so-called \u201csmart money\u201d set are still eating up his line-of-crap explanation of one of the biggest scandals in recent market history without a hint of indigestion or indignation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bill Ackman is one of the pre\u00ademinent hedge-fund managers. He\u2019s known to \u201cshort,\u201d or bet against, stocks he thinks are frauds, and once went on a years-long campaign to prove (albeit unsuccessfully) that the nutritional-supplement company Herbalife was one big pyramid scheme.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Ackman was so sold on SBF\u2019s excuse \u2014 that the crypto bro \u201cnever tried to commit fraud\u201d in assembling a house of cards that failed to meet minimum risk-compliance standards \u2014 that Ackman tweeted, \u201cCall me crazy, but I think @sbf is telling the truth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know if Ackman is really crazy, but if he believes SBF\u2019s explanations for how he created a financial firm without even basic risk-management plumbing, he may be a real sucker.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-3.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Kevin O'Leary takes part in a panel discussion of ABC's &quot;Shark Tank&quot; during the 2013 Winter Press Tour for the Television Critics Association on Jan. 10, 2013 in Pasadena, California.\" class=\"wp-image-24889034\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Kevin O\u2019Leary is said to have lost millions as a result of the FTX collapse.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-2.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Tom Brady meets with reporters on Nov. 27, 2022 in Cleveland.\" class=\"wp-image-24889035\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Tom Brady was a \u201cbrand ambassador\u201d for FTX.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Also consider Kevin O\u2019Leary of \u201cShark Tank\u201d fame. This is a dude who bills himself as someone who\u2019s been around the block so many times, he can distinguish good business ideas from the dogs. A real shark.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Leary is said to have lost millions of dollars in the FTX collapse. He, along with NFL legend Tom Brady and other celebs, were so-called \u201cbrand ambassadors,\u201d part of the crew who appeared in those sleek commercials SBF put out in order to sell the investing public that FTX was a safe place to trade your crypto.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Not a good look, but even worse is that O\u2019Leary still isn\u2019t suspicious of SBF\u2019s motives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After watching SBF\u2019s Wednesday performance with Sorkin, O\u2019Leary, known as \u201cMr. Wonderful,\u201d tweeted: \u201cI lost millions as an investor in @FTX and got sandblasted as a paid spokesperson for the firm but after listening to that interview I\u2019m in the @BillAckman camp about the kid!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_was_in_charge\"><\/span>Who was in charge?\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>For starters, the \u201ckid\u201d is 30 years old. This a grown man who conceded to Sorkin \u201cthere was no person who was chiefly in charge of positional risk of customers on FTX,\u201d which is the functional equivalent of a doctor performing surgeries without going to med school.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>SBF also told Sorkin he\u2019s speaking publicly about what went down against his lawyer\u2019s advice, because he wants to do the right thing and help make everyone who lost money whole. Maybe that\u2019s what sold Ackman and O\u2019Leary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>My bet is that the Manhattan US Attorney\u2019s Office, which is investigating this sordid mess, won\u2019t be such an easy mark for SBF\u2019s excuses.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/03\/crypto-smart-money-big-traders-fell-for-sam-bankman-fried\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Crypto \u2018smart\u2019 money? Big traders fell for Sam Bankman-Fried&#8221; I was shocked when I first learned how a hot mess like Sam Bankman-Fried got away with convincing so many seemingly smart people \u2014 big money managers, venture capitalists and all those celebrity ambassadors \u2014 that he was such a boy genius of investing, they should&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":520791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/crypto-smart-money-comp-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[135234,89897,136654,76127,71006,113643,70298],"class_list":["post-520790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ftx","tag-sam-bankman-fried","tag-12-3-22","tag-cryptocurrency","tag-fraud","tag-kevin-oleary","tag-tom-brady"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}