Welcome back, Pilgrim. Here’s what’s happened in town since you’ve been away…
Welcome back to the Reformer Newsletter, where we can take a dive into various projects and activities from around web3 and across the Christian community. You have joined this network to contribute to our collective mission of building for Christ’s Kingdom, and we will use this newsletter as a platform to enable that.
Whelp, the theme of this week’s newsletter pretty much selected itself. Another crypto exchange has imploded amidst accusations of mishandled depositor funds and increasingly shady connections both inside the industry and with certain political forces. New updates and surprise plot-twists are still coming out by the day, so to avoid speculation I will invite readers to do their own research (some links are below).
This is another reminder (in a year full of reminders) that we still live in a fallen and accursed world. If someone preaches any form of utopianism or a salvation stemming from anyone or anything other than Christ, we must run and not walk in the other direction. People, and the systems they operate, will lie, cheat, and steal for short-term and short-sighted gains. We live according to different standards and seek a victory which is both long-lasting and imminent:
No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Revelations 22:3-5
While we live in this world we must remember to guard ourselves against those who would do us harm, and we must diligently search for ways to reflect His light to our communities and across the Kingdom. Our faith rests in One greater and more powerful than us, and we seek comfort in that even as we look to extend that comfort to the nations and beyond.
Around Web3
So what just happened? I’ll encourage you to check out the links below for full details, but I do want to outline the basic facts and the most important people/acronyms of this story for context:
FTX is a centralized crypto exchange created by Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF” for short). SBF also ran a (supposedly) separate investment company called Alameda Research, and the FTX Group includes many other smaller companies in the crypto space. Also, it is noteworthy that SBF is seen as a leading voice in discussing crypto regulations through both the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and he is a major political donor in US politics.
FTX released its own native cryptocurrency token, FTT. This token does not appear to serve any value beyond speculative association with FTX.
Another crypto exchange called Binance, run by Changpeng Zhao or “CZ” for short, invested in FTX early on. When they cashed out of their investment, they received a large portion (possibly all?) of their payout in the FTT token.
So… SBF at FTX was using depositor funds to prop up the value of FTT and cover losses at Alameda Research, losses possibly connected to last summer’s collapse of UST and 3AC. CZ seems to have gotten wise to this, so he publicly announced he’d be liquidating his FTT for USD which caused the value to crash and led to a bank run. Now, SBF was a major contributor to the DNC, and as they fight the GOP for control of Congress, you’d better believe the SEC and CFTC will use this next session to get involved in the regulatory battle. QED.
FTX Declares Bankruptcy and FTX Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, SBF Steps Down as CEO: Forbes and Decrypt are releasing fairly regular updates for those who may be interested. Also, the team at Bankless is covering this very closely both in their newsletters and podcasts.
What is a Cryptocurrency Wallet?: There have been many meltdowns and negative events this year, and in each case a centralized financial (CeFi) institution was misusing either investor funds (which is sketchy) or depositor funds (which is immoral and probably illegal). Many are quick to point out that decentralized finance (DeFi) tools have weathered this storm, apart from the loss of value. Check out this time-tested video to learn the different types of wallets you can use to join the world of DeFi and learn the risks associated with any decisions you make.
Around The Kingdom
“EveryPsalm” Project Records All 150 Psalms: From the duo Jesse and Leah Roberts of Poor Bishop Hooper, this project is an audacious musical recording of all 150 Psalms completed over the past 3 years. For those wondering, Psalm 119 was broken into 22 separate recordings to avoid it running longer than “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” Check this out today- it goes great with a devotional.
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The Call
The Reformers is a community of Christ followers who want to continuously explore new tools which can extend the reach of His Kingdom. If you want to lean in and support that mission, check out a Reformers NFT, become a patron of the community, get news and updates to start building with us, and help us run this race with endurance.