Just posted some reflections on lessons I learned looking back on FTX’s collapse 2 years ago!
I hope you enjoy reading it!
I have always been extremely skeptical about self-made billionaires, not all of them, mostly the ones the raise from nowhere and go fast from 0 to 100 in a short time, and are called “genius”, or “the next- (name a brilliant entrepreneur or investor)”. If they are in their 20s or 30s…then a big red light goes on in my mind.
Don’t get me wrong, it is exciting to see young people thriving, however, I am currently 35 years old, and one thing I am learning with the years is that there’s no better professor in life than experience. Experience is the main tool and quality that we can lean on towards progress, in any form of manifestation.
Enough of opinions, I will get to the point now. Gladly, I never had an account with FTX. The personal image of SBF always repelled me from being interested in his history or in the company. Call me old-fashioned, but how do people trust a guy that looks like someone that lives in their grandma’s basement, doesn’t shower, never gets a haircut – and moreover, lives in the Bahamas but pretends to be humble by driving a Toyota.
How did experienced investors, famous celebrities, and so many other people fall for this guy? Really, Tom Brady, the f*** GOAT, invested his money on him..crazy. What did I learn looking back 2 years:
Lesson 1: Trust your guts - SBF was a clear scammer, it is so clear now after it happened, but c’mon everyone knew something was not right!
Lesson 2: Do yourself your own duo diligence – do not trust the traditional media, celebrities, and so on! They will say whatever a big check tells them to!
Lesson 3: Be even more careful with politics and politicians – guess who was the biggest individual donator for both republican and democrat parties during the 2022 election cycle? I give you a hint, he looks like a slob.
Lesson 4: Take your BTC out of the exchanges - NOW. If you do not have a cold wallet, stop reading this now, get one from a trusted brand and do your job.
FTX was not the first exchange to collapse, and it will not be the last! In most cases customers lose all their funds. In some rare cases they get a fraction of what was invested.
Lesson 5: Where there’s smoke, there’s fire – There were a few signs that things were not going well at FTX, a few weeks before the collapse, SBF was twitting as if things were right, but at the same time was logged in on his videogames for hours, which CEO of any trustworthy company can log so many hours in their video-game and be proud of this?
Be careful out there, trust no one!
Cheers if you enjoyed the text and hope my learning helps yours too!
https://stacker.news/items/709966