The Economist
Is this the end of cryptocurrency?
The FTX Collapse Dealed a Disastrous Blow to the Cryptocurrency’s Reputation and Aspirations
Why Indonesia Matters
Indonesia is back on the map. It will only grow in importance over the next decade
Over the past week, we have watched the collapse of the crypto universe with sinister fascination. Not so long ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was in the stratosphere. FTX, its then third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, was valued at $32 billion; his own wealth was estimated at $16 billion. To exuberant Silicon Valley venture capitalists, he was the financial genius who could excite investors while playing video games and possibly destined to become the world’s first billionaire.
Today, only a million angry creditors remain, dozens of shaky crypto companies, and a slew of regulatory and criminal investigations. The more that comes out about FTX’s disappearance, the more shocking the story becomes. The exchange’s own terms and conditions stated that it would not lend its clients’ assets to its trading arm. Yet it reportedly loaned $14 billion in assets to Alameda Research, a trading company also owned by Mr. Bankman-Fried. In return, she accepted her own digital tokens, which she had created from scratch, as collateral. A fatal run on the stock market exposed the gaping hole in their balance sheet. After FTX filed for bankruptcy in America, hundreds of millions of dollars were mysteriously taken from its accounts.
FTX’s rapid implosion dealt a disastrous blow to an industry with a history of failure and scandal. Never before has crypto seemed so criminal, wasteful and useless.
Our task this week was to explain what happened and consider the implications. One question is whether there is anything left at all. Another is the fate of the philanthropic movement – almost a cult – that inspired Mr. Bankman-Fried. Effective altruism was already in full swing, as some of its members dismissed the possibility of saving today’s poor from disease in favor of grand plans to save the planet decades or hundreds of years from now. Another task was to get inside the head of Mr. Bankman-Fried, who, according to our columnist Schumpeter, bears a striking resemblance to Jack Welch, the late head of GE.
Our Asia cover story looked at the most important country that is regularly overlooked. The last time Indonesia’s economy and politics were in the world’s spotlight was in the chaotic 1990s, when the system of crony capitalism collapsed amid the Asian financial crisis, bringing about the fall of the 32-year-old Suharto dictatorship.
A quarter of a century later, Indonesia is again in the news. The country was the scene of the G20 summit this week. It is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, the third largest democracy and the fourth most populous country. With a population of 276 million on thousands of islands stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, the country is caught in the strategic struggle between America and China. And like India and other emerging economies, it is adjusting to a new world order in which globalization and Western domination are on the decline. Perception often lags behind reality. We believe it is time to close this gap.
Is this the end of cryptocurrency?
The FTX Collapse Dealed a Disastrous Blow to the Cryptocurrency’s Reputation and Aspirations
Why Indonesia Matters
Indonesia is back on the map. It will only grow in importance over the next decade
Glenn Youngkin is a kind and gentle Trumpist
Virginia governor has a unique approach to adapting Donald Trump’s policies
Chinese overseas students lash out at their government
But there are reasons why such protests are rare
Even a global recession cannot lower inflation
The global economy is slowing dangerously
In defense of Qatar which hosts the World Cup
Qatar is a more worthy venue for a major sporting event than other recent hosts
Are there really universal values?
Our new weekly China podcast. This week we look at the Communist Party’s argument that universal values are actually Western values.
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