wow. one of the new victim impact statements filed tonight is from someone who lost almost six figures to a hack in 2021, had assets stuck on voyager after its july 2022 collapse, and then lost assets to FTX

he went from working in the industry to vocally advocating against it

Hello, As an FTX creditor, incoming prospective MBA candidate at a top US program, University of Florida graduate, immigrant, and new US citizen, I wish to convey the profound and harrowing impact of the FTX fallout on my mental health, career, and view of the cryptocurrency industry. Having served as a crypto industry analyst across various sell-side research firms for two years, my deep understanding of this space only compounds my disillusionment following not just the collapse of FTX, but also my status as a Voyager creditor and victim of a nearly sixfigure hack in stablecoins a year prior—incidents unconnected but emblematic of the pervasive recklessness in the industry. These events precipitated severe mental health challenges, incurring over $12,000 in related expenses, tens of thousands more in lost income, and derailed my educational and professional advancement by two years. My shift from an ex-industry advocate to a vocal critic is a testament to the industry’s systemic failings and moral bankruptcy. My hope, post-graduate school, is to champion ethical business leadership—a stark contrast to what I've witnessed firsthand. I've since undertaken grassroots efforts, written to 3 Congressional committees urging for regulation, and applied for industry grants for education efforts to prevent more victims of fraud in crypto. In addition to personal setbacks, I am compelled to underscore the broader societal risks posed by the unchecked behaviors of the industry. Echoed by a recent European Central Bank report, the industry’s trajectory now threatens immense societal collateral damage including civil unrest. The human toll of these crimes, including suicides among FTX victims, signals a crisis that demands immediate, substantive action given the inevitability of larger FTX, a larger Luna collapse, and far worse next time. Disturbingly, entities including FTX blatantly positioned themselves as legitimate replacements to the regulated banking system. They received notices from the FDIC for egregiously flouting decades of financial regulation. 94% of all crypto users are financially vulnerable Gen Z and millennial retail, middle class users like myself - this is a generational regulatory failure and crisis. Despite this, US crypto companies are now running new ads to children claiming crypto assets are legitimate alternatives to the banking system, urging them to invest in crypto in lieu of going to university, or building a career or any real value for society. Recall that SFB described DeFi and the industry at large as a ponzi scheme in a Bloomberg interview. It's hard to imagine a more pernicious message for society's next generation - it would be one thing if any of this "tech" worked without catastrophic risks, but it's so deeply flawed for mass market use that if even 10% of Americans adopted it for use beyond speculation, it would lead
to financial system instability from hacks and user error alone. In fact, top PhDs and entire teams with cybersecurity pros get hacked for millions of dollars almost every single day. Yet, this deeply flawed, experimental tech is being aggressively marketed to unsuspecting users across exchanges similar to FTX, grossly underplaying the technical pitfalls and pervasive fraud in the industry. I urge the court to seriously consider what happens when millions of unsophisticated new entrants to crypto - including the elderly and young children - get hacked for and or lose billions of dollars, or their funds are gambled by the next SBF, after being marketed these products as "better" than the banking system. This may soon be the reality within 12-36 months. This is precisely what happened with FTX and other exchanges whose marketing were slogans akin to "Unbank Yourself" and "Banks are not your friends," and continues to happen with hacks every single day. When has society allowed private issuers of currency and outright ponzi schemes to prey on the masses in the name of unregulated financial "innovation"? It is time to end the crypto chicanery before the societal price truly becomes too big to bear. A serious discussion of reparative justice just as in any prior large scale financial fraud is in order - from crypto criminals like SBF who have used stolen customer funds for their own gain, to the industry PR machine supporting crypto predators. These incidents severely undermine trust in our institutions and entire financial system. Regards,
« Back to the activity feed
« Back to the microblog feed