It’s hard to explain why I both liked and disliked it CryptomaniaOn the one hand, one must acknowledge that Andrew Chow, the author and correspondent for TIME Magazine, is a very good and experienced writer who knows how to move a story forward in such a way that the reader hardly notices that he is reading.
On the other hand, it is strange that Chow decided that the best way to link and explain the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research was to link real-world success and loss stories about NFTs.
Neither FTX nor Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) have been extensively involved in the NFT space, so choosing these topics as the central theme of a 40-chapter book seems like a real missed opportunity to delve into the murky world of offshore banking, money laundering, and international arbitrage in the crypto space.
Cryptomania is both a light read and a – at times manic – discussion of all things crypto that has transpired over a tumultuous few years. It’s worth the time and money for those outside the industry who want to gain a basic understanding of the 2021-2023 crypto years. But for anyone who lived through it, who followed the SBF process and woke up in November 2022 thinking only about FTX, it might not be for you.
Refurbished with flair
The book is essentially a recap of what brought FTX, SBF and NFTs into the spotlight and then what brought them down.
The best parts are undoubtedly Chow’s summaries and explanations. However, the people used as examples are good for a quote or two, but many just pop up far too often. Ultimately, there’s no need to hear the stories of three or four people who made it through NFTs and then lost everything.
Read more: Book review: The Network State by Balaji Srinivasan
No mention of NFTS in TIME Magazine
There are moments where the media in general is criticized, including in Chapter 18, where Chow points out the failure of numerous media outlets to ask crucial questions about FTX and SBF. Understandably, he does not talk about TIME Magazine’s own foray into the world of NFTs and crypto in this section – a project that, like many of the other examples Chow lists, abandoned and forgotten by the parent company.
I’m not saying that TIME was one of the worst perpetrators of the NFT hype, but rather that a writer who works for a company that dove headfirst into the subject he’s writing about at the height of the mania should probably address it.
Chow’s focus is less on corporate NFT money-making activities and more on individuals, many in the third world, who initially found success and then lost almost everything (sometimes because they placed the money they made from NFTs on FTX). However, I must say again that as the author of a company that has minted over a thousand NFTs, I should mention.
For me, as a staunch critic of effective altruism, it was also nice to hear Christine Chew’s story. She was a woman who worked at a private equity firm, turned to effective altruism, got into cryptocurrency, was briefly employed by FTX, became disillusioned, and now works for a real charity, trying to change the world through work and service, rather than making more and more money and donating it.
Read more: So you don’t have to: Catching up with crypto by Ben Armstrong
So what is Cryptomania?
Cryptomania is a satisfying summary of what happened when FTX and the broader cryptocurrency market collapsed a few years ago. But if you were hoping to discover new secrets about SBF, the end of 3AC, the Celsius Ponzi, or Do Kwon’s antics, You will be disappointed.
It’s also worth noting that the connection that runs throughout the book—namely, the assumption that there is a connection between the collapse of the NFT markets and the demise of FTX and Alameda Research—is flimsy at best.
As Chow points out, SBF neither understood NFTs nor cared about art, and although FTX hoped to capture a piece of the NFT market, it only did so because crypto liquidity there briefly dwindled.
There are many stories of fraud, embezzlement and exit scams in the crypto space that have yet to be told: no one can explain why Do Kwon is still languishing in a small Balkan state; how Celsius, Luna and 3AC all contributed to the death of FTX has yet to be detailed; a proper biography of numerous notable players has yet to be written and no one has bothered to write about QuadrigaCX and the death of its founder Gerald Cotten.
I’m not sure the public is clamoring for another explanation of what happened in the crypto world in 2022. I know for a fact that most people in the industry have lived through it and have no desire to go through all the details again. But if you’re one of the few who haven’t heard of failed cryptocurrency exchanges and JPEGS on the blockchain, this light read is absolutely perfect – and that’s not a dig at Chow: someone needs to write this kind of book for those who aren’t involved in the industry.
However, if you are looking for the next Number up (by Zeke Faux), the latest details about creepy international scams or exciting stories about wandering fraudsters and con artists, Cryptomania is not for you.
If you’re a writer like me, you know that there’s endless storytelling in the cryptocurrency space yet to be discovered or written. In fact, even the story of FTX, Alameda Research, and SBF has yet to be fully fleshed out. So if you’re up for it, maybe you can write the next great American scam novel.
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