There are lessons to be learned from the FTX/Alameda disaster.
First, to the extent you can, hold your own assets. The exchange was taking customer assets and lending them to the trading arm of the firm. Had customers held their own tokens, this wouldn’t have happened to the extent it did.
Second, value cannot be created out of thin air. Perhaps, these young kids were simply taking lessons from the Fed and the U.S. government (and the others around the world) who constantly print dollars thereby “creating value” out of thin air. As the holders of the FTT token found out, there is only value if someone wants to buy the thing you are selling. If all the sellers show up and there are no buyers, the value goes to zero pretty quickly. And “we all understand zero.“
Third, governance matters. A total lack of corporate governance was on display. As the former Enron liquidator found out. In most of these flameouts, you will find shoddy governance and controls.
Fourth, accountants play a crucial role for investors. Right now, there are too few people studying accounting the business schools. This is partially due to the extra hours students must obtain to enable them to take the CPA exam, and partially due to the rigor of the subject. Accounting is hard and the accountant schools often have the lowest GPAs on campus because of it.
Finally, don’t believe the bullshit when making investments. Approach every deal the same way and don’t ever fall in love with a deal. As the media has pointed out, there are some big names in the investing world that were scammed by SBF and his cronies. Had the basics been followed, these investors wouldn’t have been scammed, and the people who put money with these fund managers wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Perhaps, SBF’s ESG thoughts intrigued these investors given their push. Who knows, but I certainly hope the investors push back on these funds for failing to do proper diligence on a deal.
