Sam Bankman-Fried has in the past enjoyed media treatment akin to walking on water. Even amid the brutal cryptocurrency selloff, his exchange FTX was hailed as the buyer of last resort amid the wreckage. His geeky image, supposedly philanthropic motivations and crude online gags softened the edges of a billionaire whose business is risky crypto trading — most of it illegal in the US. But he’s been found wanting in the only three things that matter in finance — liquidity, liquidity and liquidity.
Rival billionaire Changpeng Zhao of Binance is buying him out. Zhao had earlier announced plans to sell Binance’s $530 million stash of ...