SBF

Chapter 32Crypto Bahamas

I wasn't there, so my account of FTX's last big event, Crypto Bahamas, is going to be rendered through a glass darkly, but I have one thing going for mine: it has hindsight on its side. No one writing then knew that FTX would be a crater made out of legal filings inside a Delaware bankruptcy court filing cabinet by the end of the year.

The problem with conference reports is that they focus so much on what happens on stage, but the truth is, people don't go to crypto conferences to see what's on stage. They go to be on stage. Failing that, they go to network outside the auditorium. The agenda isn't actually about something to watch so much as a signal to potential ticket buyers whether or not the organizers can put on an event that will attract the kind of people other people want to kiss up to in person.

To signal that, organizers have to spend money, and if there's one thing FTX knew how to do, it was how to spend money. FTX, and its partner SALT, spent a lot of money on the guest list at this event, that's why the agenda included folks like Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Brady, Bündchen, and Perry. Based on social media, Perry even canoodled a bit off stage with eager fanboys.

The crowd watches former President Bill Clinton speaking at Crypto Bahamas via the jumbotron, April 28, 2022. (Photo by Lucinda Shen.)

In short, Crypto Bahamas was the pinnacle ...