There is little to be added to the colossal shit storm that is FTX.
Thousands of people lost millions of dollars directly (Sequoia $213MM) or indirectly (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan $95MM). Wow, that is a lot of teacher pension money.
Crypto Wunderkind Sam Bankman – Fried who raised $1.7B in funding over 7 rounds since 1 Jan 2018.
The enablers are coming out of the woodwork to ensure that everybody knows this is NOT an indictment of the entire Crypto World or WebIII. Good luck with that.
It is just some low grade incompetence or imprudence with a possible bit of criminal behavior – the SEC and the FBI are looking into that wrinkle.
What is not happening is any chatter from FTX’s celebrity endorsers.
FTX Celebrity Endorsers
Who, pray tell, Big Red Car, are the FTX celebrity endorsers?
Ahh, grasshopper. Here is a handful:
Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen – football, model
Interestingly, Brady and Gisele were both shareholders, ambassadors, and advisers to FTX as well as making commercials.
“Tom, I put a ton of our money in FTX.”
Shaquille O’Neal – basketball
Steph Curry – basketball
Trevor Lawrence – football, hair grooming products
Naomi Osaka – woman golfer
Shohei Ohtani – baseball pitcher
David “Big Papi” Ortiz – baseball
Udonis Haslem – basketball
Matt Damon – bad acting, politics
Who cares, Big Red Car?
Good point. Who does care about celebrity endorsers?
I suppose the issue with an endorsement is that there is some suggestion that the endorser knows something about the bloody product?
Bottom line it, Big Red Car
OK, here’s the bottom line.
Some imprudent VCs gave gobs and gobs of money to an enterprise, failed to even form a board of directors, but the enterprise did pay for celebrity endorsements from folks who know fuck all about crypto, crypto exchanges, WebIII, or NFTs.
Aside on the “no board” wrinkle. Apparently, once Sam Bankman – Fraud got some traction, he used to allow funders to invest and observe, but no board. He wanted complete freedom and autonomy without the friction of a board of directors.
These mullets went along with that? You morons. Have you no values? How about some restraint, some prudence? Sheeeeeeeeesh!
The investors have all written their investment down to ZERO which may not be low enough.
As it turns out, these celebrity endorsers will never get the stench of FTX off their hands as they will all be named (and are being named) as defendants in the monsoon of lawsuits now just dropping.
The fun is just beginning.
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car and I was never asked to endorse FTX. Sour grapes?