From Bernie Madoff to Bankman-Fried: Bitcoin maximalists have been validated
The parallels between Sam Bankman-Fried and Bernie Madoff are ample. On the bright side, both men highlighted the fact that Bitcoin maximalists are immune to Ponzi schemes. Long before Bitcoin (BTC), Bernie Madoff sat atop the longest-running, largest fraud in history. The rise and real-time fall of Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, were expedited in comparison. While the similarities are profound, the storyline is not: Create organizations under false pretenses, develop relationships with people in authority positions, defraud clients, survive as long as possible, and try not to get caught. Madoff advisers experienced a “liquidity” problem in 2008, around late November into early December, where the fund was unable to meet client redemption requests. On its surface, the fourth-quarter timing of the Madoff collapse more than a decade ago appears eerily similar to FTX’s 2022 implosion. Bitcoiners who hold their keys will never experience a “liquidity problem,”...