Sam Bankman-Fried Book Author Hits Back At Critics, Accuses Some Of Having A 'Lynch Mob Mentality' Towards FTX Case

Author Michael Lewis has responded to criticism that he showed too much sympathy in his new book towards Sam Bankman-Fried.

What Happened; In an interview with ABC News, Lewis dismissed the critics as “crazy,” stating that there are multiple perspectives involved in the case. He claimed to present a different narrative in his book, one that incorporates overlooked information and leaves room for readers to form their own conclusions.

“They’re two stories — the defense is offering one and the prosecution is offering another. I have a completely different one with lots of other stuff that they haven’t been mentioning that leaves the reader with the possibility of thinking lots of different things," he said.

Lewis compared the public reaction to FTX’s collapse to a “lynch mob mentality,” suggesting that there was a “very quick rush to judgment when it all fell apart.”

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Why It Matters: The author has faced backlash for his comments while promoting the book, particularly his statement on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that FTX was not a Ponzi scheme. Lewis defended his position during the recent ABC interview, explaining that FTX’s business structure did not align with the definition of a Ponzi scheme. Instead, FTX consisted of the Alameda Research hedge fund and the FTX exchange business, which he argued were distinct entities.

Lewis shared an intriguing revelation about Bankman-Fried. According to him, Bankman-Fried once contemplated the idea of paying Donald Trump not to run for president in 2024. Lewis said, “There was a number that was kicking around… and the number that was kicking around when I was talking to Sam about this was $5 billion.”

Photo by Lev Radin on Shutterstock

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin BTC/USD was trading at $27,493, down 0.72% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

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