Infinite Storm: The Rise and Fall Symphony of FTX Empire
Back in the day, Michael Lewis had just finished writing a book about the pandemic and was looking for the protagonist of his next book. He wanted someone with a unique personality and a compelling story, someone like Billy Beane from “Moneyball,” Michael Burry from “The Big Short,” or Brad from “Flash Boys” – individuals who dared to go against the mainstream and carve their own path.
It was at this time that Brad called Michael and said he wanted to introduce him to a new friend. Michael then learned that there was a platform called FTX in the crypto world, which started in Hong Kong and had become extremely popular. The owner of FTX was a young man named SBF, who had become a billionaire in his twenties. Some even predicted that he would become the first trillionaire on earth.
However, like most people, Michael had no concept of cryptocurrency and had never heard of SBF. When they met for the first time, Michael saw a young man wearing an Uber cap, messy hair, shorts, a t-shirt, loose white socks, and worn-out New Balance shoes. He exuded a certain intelligence and sincerity that was hard to put into words. After walking and talking with him for the afternoon, Michael immediately decided that his next book would be about SBF. “This person is extraordinary!” Michael said.
SBF told Michael that he was a follower of Peter Singer’s “effective altruism” and that he entered the financial world to make money. He wanted to accumulate an “infinite” amount of wealth to solve crises that threaten humanity, such as climate change and famine. Oh, and also, he considered Trump to be one of the threats to humanity, so he actually went and asked Trump how much money it would take for him to drop out of the race.
But what Michael didn’t know at the time was that a storm was brewing around this young man named SBF. Just as Michael’s interview with SBF was ending and he was pondering how to start writing, the news broke: FTX had gone bankrupt, millions of people worldwide were affected, and Taiwan was hit hard. SBF’s vision of “infinite wealth” had turned into an “infinite storm.”
It was at this moment that the media was astonished to discover that Michael was writing about SBF’s story. Michael was already a bestselling author in the financial world, with books like “Liar’s Poker,” “The Big Short,” “Moneyball,” which were not only adapted into movies but also widely read by finance enthusiasts to this day. Having spent over a year interviewing and observing SBF up close, Michael witnessed firsthand how SBF amassed over 20 billion dollars in wealth at an unprecedented speed. And then, when FTX collapsed and employees fled the Bahamas, Michael was also there, witnessing the entire process. Everyone wanted to know how he would tell the story of FTX and how he would evaluate SBF as a person. How would he interpret this financial event once again?
When I got my hands on the manuscript for “Infinite Storm,” I devoured it like binge-watching a TV series. The stories in the book allowed us to see the inner workings of the so-called “crypto world” and the words and actions of influential figures (such as Zhao Changpeng) in the news. Just like reading “The Big Short,” I saw Michael meticulously unravel the complexities of crypto trading, effective altruism, bankruptcy procedures, and the judicial system, interpreting the most bizarre case in financial history.
Oh, and completely unexpectedly, this world-shaking case began with a Taiwanese girl named “Tian Wenxin”…
By Saturday, the investors who had spoken with SBF on Thursday received no response.
“Maybe he threw his phone away,” speculated an insider.
“Michael Lewis has been flying around with him recently,” someone added.
“Perhaps we have to wait for his book to understand the complete story.”
– John Erlichman, Reporter
#1 New York Times Bestseller
Selected as one of The New Yorker’s Best Books of the Year
Featured as a top cryptocurrency book by Caixin
★★★ High Praise ★★★
– JC Financial Perspective, Jenny Wang
– XREX Senior Director, You Xiwei
– Professional Football Commentator, Shi Mingjin/Left Cup
– Founder of Blockforce, Xu Ming’en
– CEO of XREX Exchange, Huang Yaowen
– Legislator and Digital Technology Expert, Ge Rujun/Dr. Bao
