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SBF: Authenticity is really important

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SBF talks about staying grounded behind DeFi, celebrity endorsements and a successful life.

Original title: Sam Bankman-Fried Of FTX: Authenticity Is Really Important

Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer, ThePavlovicToday

Katie Koo, The Daily Planet

SBF:

, & have spentWe welcome regulation, we are happy to talk about it, and we know it will come.

, FTX is for everyone. Institutions, individual groups and retail investors are welcome.

, Authenticity is really important, but it's often underappreciated.

SBF is an intuitive person. If you Google his name, it comes up as "2021 Forbes 400 billionaire," but I'm not sure that's the best way to introduce him. SBF is also the second largest contributor to Biden's campaign, with more than $5 million in personal donations, behind Bloomberg founder Mike Bloomberg.

Looking laid back and wearing a black sweatshirt emblazoned with the letters FTX, SBF looks like a non-conformist figure who says bluntly that he does not try to fit in. In person, his demeanor is one of rational rock 'n' roll madness, but the outward coolness belies his true side. SBF is an expert in data science, and his effective altruism is based on a deep understanding of utilitarian philosophy. He can think faster than he can say it, and he maps his thoughts in his head. SBF would be a good chess player because he always looks to the future.

Here's Our interview with Sam Bankman Fried (SBF), THE CEO and founder of FTX.

Just three years into the cryptocurrency trading platform space, SBF has led the DeFi trend, attracting big names and NFL wizards, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. SBF is a calm, charismatic person who is also a member of the public. SBF is you and ME.

Graduated from a prestigious school, born into a family of lawyers, success seemed natural. But SBF has dreams and actions. He wanted to create his own thing and work on it. For SBF, choosing your own path means forging ahead into the unknown. However, his path has not been smooth. "The only way to find out is to try" -- something he learned during his quest. His values remain fundamental to what he does, and he says he will not cross ethical lines in ushering in an era of decentralized finance.

Throughout, the SBF says it is an altruistic activist. His goal is to find ways to impact the world in a positive way. He wasn't sure how, but if he made a contribution to the world, he would get what he wanted. To give as much as he can, to find the right way to give, is what he will always do.

SBF believes that under the magnifying glass, starting your own business will certainly attract a lot of attention, many of which are competition of interests. 'It's hard to make decisions because there are so many stakeholders involved,' he says after a pause. There's him, shareholders, employees, regulators, and a seated user base. So do what you can. There's no right answer.

SBF attitude: "Face the problem, start work directly"

SBF -- try our best to make our stakeholders feel fair and just, face the problem and start work directly.

SBF's FTX, a fast-growing decentralized financial platform, is a crypto trading legend that expanded into Gibraltar and the Bahamas in September.

Pictured here, SBF and his team celebrate the regulatory approval of the Bahamas Digital Asset Registration Act

SBF's vision for FTX is divided into two parts. First, FTX is committed to providing users with a secure and convenient way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. To provide users with a platform for the first time, and at the same time to create an effective market with a large user base. For longtime users, FTX wants to be able to conduct hedging-related transactions in a way that is the scale, comfort, directness and trust of traditional financial markets, which is often not seen in cryptocurrencies.

The second is about FTX business. SBF stands for creating an economic portal for users, providing an experience you don't see in most options. Currently people have to switch back and forth between five different apps and products. They can save salaries, they can spend money, they can invest in cryptocurrencies, they can invest in stocks. These are all different platforms, and moving money between them is a pain. Every step of the way involves trust issues, and the user experience is bad. A coherent user experience is something FTX is striving for.

At FTX, SBF is trying to build a platform where people can use their money smoothly, coherently and integrally. A way to access it freely.

The young giant of global financial markets is bringing the crypto world into the public eye and arousing interest. He couldn't be a math professor, but he could always explain complex problems in the simple way that all great minds do.

SBF believes that the difference between cryptocurrency platforms like FTX and traditional trading platforms is that when you want to trade on the stock market, you want to know about order books and quotes, but the data is not publicly available. You have to pay to get information about basic market data. For example, if you want to know the price of an Apple product, you have to pay up front or they won't tell you the final price. From fairness to access to efficient markets, everyone should have free access to this data, or keep it completely secret.One of the core attributes of FTX is that all data, except the user's private information is 100% confidential, is public and accessible to anyone. This can be through the FTX website, application or API. Both first-time FTX users and established trading companies can get the same information on FTX for free.

A key driver of SBF's decision was how he would bring FTX products to thousands of users.

How did SBF attract retail investors without mature investment knowledge into cryptocurrency

SBF: "FTX is open to everyone and we welcome institutions, individuals and retail investors. On the one hand, FTX has more trading volume than Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp and Bittrex combined, and we now have the second largest open interest trading platform in the world. On the other hand, Coinbase has 30 times as many users as we do, largely because we only started in 2019.We do have users from all walks of life, but from a time point of view, we have greater penetration among users who are highly engaged, highly active and more professional."

SBF explanation: "A lot of trading platforms have tens of millions of millions of users, and we start time is not enough to build global awareness, we is not the time for people to buy COINS first thought of the platform. But we set up a very cool platform, and expanding scale, market share rising. We provide a lot of convenience for new users of mobile phone application interface. With credit cards and bank transfers, users can easily access their accounts."

Real star power marketing for FTX

SBF's marketing campaign for FTX was very aggressive, and the company won celebrity endorsements one after another, but this was just the beginning of his forward-looking marketing strategy.

The picture shows FTX signing a long-term sponsorship deal with Formula One team Mercedes-AMG

SBF said: "we do want to catch up in terms of brand, we can buy a lot of Google ads, a large number of facebook ads, may have a role, but this did not represent us. We are thinking about what can be done, to reach tens of millions of people in the form of a kind of attractive, even hundreds of millions of people. In a way to represent FTX value.

SBF says its company has talked to a lot of celebrities about sponsorship, but they want to find people who are really passionate about cryptocurrencies, who want to do things and get things done. "It takes a passionate person to really rub off on others. Authenticity is very important, and people often don't value it enough. It's a very important trait," SBF told The Magazine.

SBF thinks that people with less trust in banks are more likely to store their assets in other ways. This is true for countries with unstable political systems and unreliable banks, such as inflation in Venezuela.

SBF welcomes regulation

In many countries, alternative payment systems have started to become common primary payment systems and primary banking systems, because that's how they set up an effective network. And these systems must be regulated.

Kevin O Leary, an investor in FTX, has boldly called on regulators to work with communities, not against them.SBF said. "We invite regulators to join, we welcome dialogue, we know that this is the trend of The Times. What matters now is how to cooperate with regulatory. And directly make the company regulation is not closed, this is not we seek solutions, also is not the purpose of regulation. Clear approach is good, this is a company and regulatory open dialogue. That's the way to make sure things are regulated, not put up barriers to innovation, and we'll see.At the same time, a lot of people don't actually have a bank account globally and maybe even they don't trust their banks or trust them but can't use them, so there have to be alternative payment methods that don't rely on those."

The most prominent cryptocurrency players, including SBF, worry about entering a new industry and encountering barriers that could lead to capital flight due to a lack of business regulatory cooperation.

All rivers run into sea

SBF: "We have to welcome voices from all sides. I can make a product that works for me, but it's not for me. What matters is the needs of the users."

SBF is moving all operations to the Bahamas. Over the years he has built a multicultural and diverse team that has driven his deep understanding that cryptocurrency is a truly global business. Different cultural perspectives continue to influence his decision-making.

He said: "It's really cool to see how people around the world have different needs for products and different lifestyles. We're not a centralized trading platform, we don't have jurisdiction. It helps us to look at products with a broader perspective. He also said that FTX takes user feedback seriously, which is important to FTX and its users.

SBF, an avid reader of utilitarianism, sees cryptocurrencies as the new frontier for individual freedom and happiness for the majority.

Staying grounded is SBF's way of dealing with the crypto world

SBF is one of the few self-made members of the billionaires' club, but he never hangs out with the rich. Instead, he is everywhere at FTX, interacting with people and trying to stay relevant. He wants to know firsthand and grasp users' pain points. He says the most important thing is to get on with his day job, which is also his way of relieving stress. At FTX, SBF has a policy that no one should spend more than 50% of their time managing, but at least half of their time actually dealing with problems and getting things done.

SBF is leading FTX to a bright future. Will you be the next participant?

SBF, as always, maintains his personal authenticity.