Gm. The crypto-kids are not alright.

FRESH POWDER

Looking at three funds that recently topped up their coffers.

CRYPTO

FTX Keeps Getting Worse

At this point, everyone knows that crypto exchange FTX has collapsed. A complete financial tragedy that has destroyed billions of dollars.

However, that is far from the end of this story. It just gets weirder with every hour.

Let’s try to recap what’s happened since our most recent coverage of FTX.

A Hack?

As if going bankrupt even though you have a license to literally print money wasn’t bad enough, it’s now obvious that FTX’s security was also severely lacking.

That is because more than $600 million has been stolen from FTX’s crypto wallets.

What The FTX?!?!

If this sounds fishy to you, you’re not alone. There is wide speculation that this was an inside job, but nobody knows at this point. What we do know is that about $200 million has since been recovered by FTX.

We have no idea if this was an inside job, but would it really surprise anyone if it was?

If you’ve already committed a couple of crimes, why not do a few more?

The SBF Chase

In recent crypto disasters Terra Luna and 3AC, the people at the heart of the collapse (Su Zhu, Kyle Davies, and Do Kwon) have all vanished from the face of the Earth, running from public accountability and the law.

It appears that SBF will not be as lucky.

SBF, co-founder Gary Wang, and director of engineering Nishad Singh are all stuck under supervision in the Bahamas, unable to make their planned escape to Dubai.

For a man who constantly waxed poetics about following laws, it is pretty ironic to see him trying to escape justice.

Superspreading

Unfortunately, this is not the end of this story. The possible contagion runs far and wide.

• Alameda was a major crypto market-maker, stroking liquidity fears across the crypto markets.

• FTX had 134 affiliates and liabilities of up to $50 billion. For comparison, Enron had liabilities of $23 billion.

It will take months and years for this to play out.

For now, if you have crypto, hold on for dear life.

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: $400 million: the amount Crypto.com accidentally transferred to another exchange then asked for back. Lol, this is the first time I've heard of someone Crypto.com ever.

Story to watch: AMC is working with Zoom to turn some movie theaters into conference rooms. Your tech bro CEO who thinks he's The Rock 2.0 is a little way too excited.

Rabbit hole: A Look Back At The SPAC-Fueled LA Mansion-Buying Spree Of 2021-22 (Crunchbase)

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Founder Suhail Doshi announced that Mighty is shutting down after 3.5 years. Mighty is selling their IP and will now be known as Might Noty.

• In the most predictable news of all time, Elon has paused the Twitter Blue program after people started abusing the checkmark to impersonate famous people.

• In related news, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s stock took a $20 billion hit after a fake account tweeted out that “insulin is free now”. Ouch.

• TikTok is testing in-app shopping features. As if we needed the app to get any more addicting.

WHO TWEETED IT?

"This tweet is a living organism that just infiltrated your mind through the process of you reading it."

A. Elon Musk

B. Grimes

C. Lex Fridman

D. Jack Butcher

MONDAY MUSIC

Artist: Portugal, The Man (Spotify)

Playlist: Death Cab Instrumentals (Spotify)

^^^^ Perfect for writing and reading

Song: The Internet by Oliver Tree (Spotify)

P.S. If you have any songs or artists you love, feel free to reply to this email and send ‘em our way.

LAYOFFS TRACKER

Notable layoffs this week

iRobot: 100 people

Blend: 100 people (6%)

Veev: 100 people (30%)

FOUNDERS CORNER

The best resources we came across this weekend that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor.

😵‍💫 VC Rohit Krishnan wrote about the perils of pride for founders.

🤝 Houck dropped a framework for quickly solving co-founder disputes.

🎙 Oldie but a goodie: M&A Before & After for Founders via The a16z Podcast

PICK THAT PITCH DECK ANSWER

C. Lex Fridman