What the Hell Is Happening With Crypto? Part 2

'a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals'

(Link to part 1)

After a few days in His Majesty's Prison Fox Hill - dubbed by Bahamian locals as 'Fox Hell' - disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried decided to agree to his extradition to the US to face charges. That, despite the fact that he was kept away from the general prison population of Fox Hell, in their overcrowded cells, having to defecate in buckets. He enjoyed other special perks, such as air-conditioning and cable TV in the prison.

As the news of his imminent transfer to the US spread, there was a widespread rumor that Bankman-Fried would likely be transferred to the same jail where Jeffrey Epstein died. That caused some commotion, given the fact that he is the keeper of so many secrets from powerful people in the political sphere.

Little did these people know that he would instantly be released on bail. But I get ahead of myself.

US Attorney Damian Williams

Before SBF appeared in court,  US Attorney Damian Williams announced that FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison entered guilty pleas, as part of a deal for leniency, in exchange for easier sentences at the Southern District of New York Court today.

Williams said that Wang and Ellison were part of a 'sweeping fraud scheme that contributed to FTX's collapse and for a campaign finance scheme that sought to influence public policy in Washington.'

Law and Crime: 'Wang and Ellison were not just business associates of Bankman-Fried. Rather, they were part of the former billionaire’s “inner circle” of 10 roommates. According to one account, this close-knit circle reportedly lived with and dated within the workplace. The pairings are not public, but Ellison and Bankman-Fried reportedly were among those who dated, according to Insider.'

'Ellison and Wang promised to 'cooperate fully' with law enforcement, and to 'truthfully and completely disclose all information concerning all matters' under investigation. The documents also specify that should the time come when prosecutors deem Ellison and Wang not to have provided 'substantial assistance' in the case, that their respective deals will be revoked.'

While some 'predicted' that he would be sent to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to be 'Epsteined', it was not to be the case.

Sam Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bail, a while he awaits trial. I was a 'personal recognizance bond' agreed to by prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s lawyers.

That means 'a written commitment from the accused to appear in court when ordered. In return, Bankman-Fried’s camp would not be required to meet the full collateral requirements on the bail.'

'The bond was secured by equity in his family home, and by the signatures of his parents and two other individuals with 'considerable' assets.'

So, he traded his ankle shackles for an ankle monitor and got out to stay with his parents and submit to mental health counseling.

In his next hearing, on Jan. 3, he will enter his plea and be arraigned. As it stands now, odds are he will plead guilty and get a sweetheart deal like we have never seen before.

Good old days of scamming.

No wonder a scam artist so invested in the Democrat's finances would be have been treated in the mainstream media as a heroic figure. He 'lives like many millennials -- he swears by his vegan diet, shares an apartment with roommates, wears T-shirts and shorts to work […] a workaholic with strict self-discipline. He spends most nights in the office and only returns home when employees are fed up with my presence.'

In retrospect, the lionizing is sickening. '[SBF is] a kind of crypto Robin Hood, beating the rich at their own game to win money for capitalism’s losers.'

'Bankman-Fried lives like a college student perpetually cramming for finals. He drives a Toyota Corolla, and when he’s not at the office, he crashes at an apartment with 10 or so roommates, though it’s a penthouse at the island’s nicest resort.'

But as the monumental dimension of the FTX/Alameda fraud becomes more and more evident, the tide in the media starts to turn against the crazy kids defrauding costumers out of their hard-earned money.

The Guardian exemplifies well this new unsympathetic approach: 'It is a story that encompasses a financial black hole inside a company once valued at $32bn, a byzantine group structure with unclear lines of ownership, and a leadership with a highly unconventional approach to governance and interpersonal relations.'

In the words of John J. Ray III, the corporate restructuring lawyer who oversaw the liquidation of Enron, they were a 'very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals'.

The spotlight is also shinning on Alameda's CEO, Bankman-Fried’s sometime girlfriend, 28-year-old Caroline Ellison. Her social media posts have been dug up where she talks about her ideal man should 'control most major world governments' and have 'sufficient strength to physically overpower' her. Where also she talks about her exploration of polyamory.

“When I first started my first foray into poly, I thought of it as a radical break from my trad past but tbh, I’ve come to decide the only acceptable style of poly is best characterized as something like ‘imperial Chinese harem’. None of this non-hierarchical bullshit. Everyone should have a ranking of their partners, people should know where they fall on the ranking, and there should be vicious power struggles for the ranks.”

A Chinese harem had an empress, a few consorts and many concubines. In this scenario of drugged young people out of control, t is distressing to imagine who these women in the lower ranks of the polycule might be.

'According to one report, an in-house psychiatrist was on hand to dole out prescription stimulants; photos of Bankman-Fried at his desk appear to show an empty box of one such medication.'

Tweet by Autism Capital: 'The stimulant patch that Sam preferred was EMSAM, a drug normally used to treat depression or Parkinson's, but used off-label for its alertness and focus benefits'

SBF: 'I have a prescription for Emsam, and have for roughly a decade,' according to a prepared version of remarks to Congress. 'It is not generally the case that people are expected to talk about their private medical conditions, but enough paparazzi have snapped photos of my belongings and theorized about it online that I guess I have no choice.'

Bankman and Ellison are known for social media posts about stimulants, sleeping pills, without naming specific drugs. But his lawyer, in a hearing in the Bahamas, stated that Bankman-Fried still relied on Adderall every four hours.

End of Part 2.