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”

Take Unchained’s 2022 survey!  

Unchained is doing its annual survey. Tell us how you think we’re doing and how we could improve, whether it be on the podcast, in the newsletter, or in our premium offering. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com Chainalysis Minima

Kevin:

  • Twitter
  • Previous Unchained episodes:

Jesse:

Previous coverage on Unchained of FTX:

FTX Collapse:

Read the Episode Transcript here