If you’re anything like this editor, the entire FTX Crypto/Sam Bankman-Fried thing is a confusing mess. You can tell something strange is afoot here, but the what and the who, and the when can get muddy.
Luckily, we have peeps like Michael Shellenberger around who are informed enough to shine a little light on what the cockroaches were up to … this is a great thread.
FTX Crypto Fraudsters Targeted Poor Black Neighborhoods In PR-Lobbying Effort
SBF's father, Stanford Professor Joseph Bankman, worked with FTX from the beginning
Bankman oversaw intertwined philanthropic and regulatory effortshttps://t.co/N6FZwvu61y
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Hrm.
So the rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree.
Keep going.
In the spring of 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, made Chicago its U.S. headquarters, drawing the applause of the city’s mayor.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
How convenient.
“This is a tool to bring traditionally underrepresented & ignored populations into the world of crypto so they can take control of their financial destiny,” said Mayor @LoriLightfoot at the May ribbon-cutting at the opulent, 9k square foot FTX HQ. “I think the sky is the limit.”
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
When Democrats bring up ‘underrepresented and ignored populations’ you know there’s some shady shiznit going down.
The reason https://t.co/qq2tW8oy2W chose Chicago was, in part, to use the city to pilot a cash giveaway program aimed at poor African American residents. FTX was essentially contributing to two ”guaranteed basic income” programs.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Ya don’t say?
Ostensibly a charitable exercise, the program, which FTX also ran in Florida, expanded the market for FTX’s app, and appears to have been a crucial part of a PR and lobbying effort aimed at winning the support of Democrats for FTX’s agenda to effectively regulate itself.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Bankman-Fried was the 2nd largest donor to both President Joe Biden in 2020 and to Democrats in 2022, after George Soros.
After Bankman-Fried testified in May to a Congressional committee chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), she blew him a kiss. https://t.co/086nB2hFuL
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Only Soros donated more … let that sink in.
Maxine Waters blew him a kiss.
You’ve gotta be kidding us.
The episode is a cautionary tale about how powerful financial interests use progressive social justice ideology to advance their business interests at the expense of the communities they claim to be helping. pic.twitter.com/2K08WBhILw
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
It’s the Democrat way.
“We, like most nonprofits, are shocked by this because they presented this ‘effective altruism’ model to everyone and seemed to push for racial equity,” said Richard Wallace, the co-founder and executive director of EAT, one of the cash-giveaway initiatives.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Sadly, we’re not shocked by any of this.
The whole strategy was overseen by Bankman-Fried’s father, Joseph Bankman, a Stanford Law professor. I am the first to report that Bankman had been working for FTX from the very beginning. “From the start [of FTX], whenever I was useful, I lent a hand,” said Bankman.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Professor.
Because of course.
“Like all FTX app users,” he explained, “you get a bank account with your app, if you want it. We're working with justice-impacted families. A lot of poor families, especially people of color, have had family members spend time in prison… Almost none have bank accounts.”
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Taking advantage of ‘justice-impacted families.’ Stay classy, bro.
The charity efforts were aimed at winning support from Democratic politicians generally and African American politicians, specifically, from Chicago’s Lightfoot to California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, before whose committee Bankman-Fried testified.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
How convenient.
FTX's plans were shocking in their ambition. It sought to radically alter the regulation of all commodities, not just crypto or finance, in ways that would benefit FTX. And it came very close to doing so. pic.twitter.com/AfRpQiIFdo
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Scary stuff, eh?
To read the full story, please visit my Substack!https://t.co/N6FZwvu61y
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 6, 2022
Clearly, there’s a reason we’re not hearing more about FTX.
Just sayin’.
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