A company emerged nearly overnight in 2021. It seemed to promise to revolutionize the world of cryptocurrency.  

The company was called FTX, short for “Futures Exchange” and it had one goal: changing the way the ordinary person thought about crypto all while making ludicrous amounts of money while doing it.  

Through the company, investors were encouraged to treat cryptocurrency the way most people treated stocks or bonds, riding the waves of market fluctuation to maximize returns on investment, instead of an intermediary between foreign currencies.  It was an enigmatic idea, driven largely by FTX’s enigmatic founder Sam Bankman-Fried. 

Anyone who has paid attention to financial or tech news in the last year should instantly recognize the name Sam Bankman-Fried, who conned his investors out of nearly $8 billion, according to federal prosecutors. But, that isn’t where his story starts.  

Through anecdotes from Bankman-Fried’s family, classmates and even Sam himself, “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon” paints a fascinating portrait of the young man that would quickly rise to the heights of the crypto world and just as suddenly fall into infamy.

Author Micheal Lewis does a great job exploring the complexity of Sam Bankman-Fried, who seems both very human in his inner thoughts and desires, but also intensely aloof and detached in his interactions with others.  

The book also breaks down the central philosophical principle behind the rise of Bankman-Fried’s empire, a movement known as “effective altruism,” in a way easily digestible by those without much knowledge of philosophy.  

Overall, the strengths of the book lie in its author’s ability to explain things like philosophy or the intricacies of finance in ways that engage the reader and don’t detract from the overall story.  Though, for as well as the author breaks down the more abstract aspects of financial practice, there seem to be instances where the writing relies too heavily on industry jargon, which in some cases slows down the already fairly slow pace of the narrative.

Ultimately, the book is a great read for anyone interested in learning more about Sam Bankman-Fried or FTX, or the ongoing push to see cryptocurrency legitimized in the eyes of a wider public. 

Official Score: 8/10 

Categories: Arts & Entertainment