Acknowledgments ix

About the Author xi

Introduction 1

1 “Unhinged”: October 20, 2022 5

2 What’s Beef? 13

3 House of Cards 19

4 Finance Needs an Upgrade 27

5 What’s at Stake? 35

6 Rugs and Revolutions: A History of Crypto Exchanges 43

7 SBF: The Man behind the Myth 53

8 FTX: A Myth Born in a Bull Market 61

9 Bear Market 2022 69

10 Contagion 75

11 Scam Bankman Fried 83

12 Whistleblowers 89

13 The Bankless Debates 97

14 A Rival Goes in for the Kill 103

15 “1) What”: The Fall of FTX 109

16 Hip-Hop Politics 115

17 My Trip to the Bahamas 121

18 Side Quests 133

19 High Stakes 141

20 Justice? 151

21 The Final Showdown 159

22 Regulators, Mount Up! 169

Epilogue: Catching Up with the Bitsquad 179

Appendix: Timeline of Events 181

Glossary of Terms 183

Notes 187

Index 195

Uncover the Shakespearean tragedy of Alameda Research, FTX, and Sam Bankman-Fried

Catching Up To FTX: Lessons Learned In My Crusade Against Corruption, Fraud, and Bad Hair is an expert insider’s account of one of the largest and most blatant frauds perpetrated on crypto investors since the fall of the original cryptocurrency exchange, Mt. Gox. In the book, author, podcaster, and celebrated YouTuber Ben Armstrong tracks the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried as he oversaw the creation and collapse of Alameda Research and FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

Tracking the history of other famous crypto exchange and cryptocurrency frauds from recent history, the author walks you through major developments in the FTX saga, up to and including his firsthand observations of Bankman-Fried’s extradition from his home in the Bahamas to the United States to face dozens of criminal and regulatory charges.

A fascinating and compelling tale of greed, corruption, and hubris, Catching Up To FTX is the perfect book for finance professionals, cryptocurrency investors and enthusiasts, and anyone else with an interest in epic stories of fraud and graft that deliver Shakespearean levels of intrigue.

In Catching Up To FTX: Lessons Learned In My Crusade Against Corruption, Fraud, and Bad Hair, cryptocurrency veteran and industry insider Ben Armstrong delivers the compelling and fascinating story of the collapse of FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried—better known by his initials, SBF. In this book, you’ll discover that the signs of fraud were readily available to many of the firm’s evangelists, as well as a blow-by-blow analysis of FTX’s collapse over a 10-day period in November of 2022. From the author’s firsthand account of what he saw in the Bahamas when SBF was extradited to the United States to face a variety of criminal and regulatory charges to the latest developments in the case, you’ll get an insider’s look at the Shakespearean tragedy behind the fall of one of the crypto industry’s largest exchanges.

Armstrong dives deep into the history of cryptocurrency and crypto exchanges, describing the tendency of many of the industry’s large, initial exchanges to go down in flames amidst allegations of widespread fraud and graft. He goes on to explain how the same fate befell FTX and Alameda Research and the impact those implosions had on investors, ordinary people, and financial industry titans.

The author also discusses the importance of decentralization to the ethos of the Bitcoin community, and how Sam Bankman-Fried defied that belief, advocating (at least in public) for greater centralization and regulation of crypto technologies and currencies. He explains why this made many suspect the motives animating SBF’s actions, and why—for many—FTX’s fate was not terribly surprising.

An extraordinary and engrossing tale of greed, hubris, and corruption, Catching Up To FTX is a must-read recounting of one of modern history’s largest and most flagrant frauds. It will earn a place in the libraries of finance professionals, crypto enthusiasts and investors, and anyone else with an interest in larger-than-life personalities and stories with high stakes and even higher drama.