Does GBTC Have Full Reserves? 👀

November 21, 2022

On the Pod…

Kevin Zhou, cofounder of Galois Capital, and Jesse Powell, cofounder of Kraken, talk about why FTX collapsed, the warning signs, and whether it’s a catalyst for self-custodial adoption. Show highlights:

  • the root causes of the FTX collapse, according to Jesse and Kevin

  • whether there were warning signs of all the risks that were to come

  • the importance of learning from mistakes, even for new people in the space

  • Kevin's response to the stuck funds in FTX

  • the debate about utilitarianism and SBF's effective altruism

  • whether the philosophy behind founders matters

  • Kevin's and Jesse's theories of how FTX and Alameda lost billions of dollars

  • how Alameda and FTX's books were commingled 

  • whether people will start using self-custodial wallets

  • whether the fall of FTX vindicates BTC maximalism

  • whether regulation has been beneficial or harmful for American customers

  • the role of venture capital firms and their "mixed incentives"

What’s Poppin’?

Blockchain security firms called for exchanges to be on high alert after the FTX exploiter began moving funds on-chain.

Bitcoiners are running their own numbers using blockchain forensics to ascertain GBTC’s Proof-of-Reserves.

Do Kwon asked Cosmos developers to DM him to discuss free integration with Terra Station.

Total Value Locked on Solana’s DeFi ecosystem has now fallen under $300 million.

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In Other News…✍️✍️✍️

  • According to bankruptcy filings, FTX owes more than $3 billion to its top 50 creditors.

  • The bankruptcy court handling Celsius’s case set Jan. 3 as the last day creditors can file a claim against the lender. 

  • Bankman-Fried cashed out $300 million during FTX’s fundraise last year.

  • Crypto OTC trading firm Genesis Block HK has over $50 million stuck on FTX.

  • Senator Ted Cruz accused Binance of ‘ill intent’ for its failed agreement to acquire FTX.

  • NFT marketplace X2Y2 will enforce royalties on NFTs following OpenSea’s ‘brave’ decision. 

  • The Securities and Exchange Commission stepped in to suspend the sale of American CryptoFed DAO tokens.

  • Ren, a DeFi protocol on Ethereum previously backed by Alameda, risks not having enough liquidity to continue its operations. 

  • The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) will write down its $95 million investment in FTX and FTX.US to zero.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

  • Man Group, the biggest publicly traded hedge fund, is close to starting a crypto hedge fund.

What Do You Meme

📈 Your Market Update 📉

  • BTC: $16,115

  • ETH: $1,114

  • BTC dominance: 37.3%

  • Crypto market cap: $827 billion

*All data as of today, 5 am ET

Recommended Reads

  1. Fortune’s Jeff Roberts on Gary Gensler:

  2. Joe Consorti on GBTC:

  3.  Arthur Hayes on SBF:

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