Skip to content
logo

Aventus

  • About
    • The Aventus Solution
    • Partnerships
    • Use Cases
    • Testimonials
    • Press
    • Team
  • Technology
  • Ecosystem
  • Use Cases
  • Documentation
  • News
  • Contact

News

Why the FTX collapse has nothing to do with blockchain

December 22, 2022

Return the Selection

By Alan Vey, Founder & CEO, Aventus

Since the collapse of FTX, one question has risen above the rest – not only in the crypto world, but perhaps even more predominantly in mainstream society: “If you can’t trust FTX, who can you trust?”

Some see this series of unfortunate events as indisputable proof that the blockchain industry is rotten to the core. Broken from the inside out. Doomed for failure. 

At its height, FTX was the second-largest crypto centralised crypto exchange by volume. Within a fortnight, it went from being trusted by millions to losing billions of dollars and causing aftershocks throughout the entire industry.

But the fact is, the collapse of FTX has nothing to do with blockchain. It wasn’t crypto (or the principles of blockchain) that failed. It was much more simple than that: a good, old-fashioned centralised scam. 

And FTX’s new CEO, John Ray – who was also appointed CEO of Enron during its bankruptcy and for recovering more than $828 million for creditors – agreed: 

This is really old-fashioned embezzlement. This is just taking money from customers and using it for your own purpose, not sophisticated at all.

John Ray, Wall Street Journal, 12 December 2022

In fact, Gavin Wood, who founded Ethereum and Polkadot, said it best:

I’m sick of hearing crypto confused with a heavily-marketed centralised, mismanaged exchange. FTX’s failure is far from a harbinger of crypto. Quite the opposite: it’s a concrete demonstration of the need for more, better decentralised, trust-free technology.

— Gavin Wood (@gavofyork) November 25, 2022

The Power of Regulation

The crux of crypto, and indeed, blockchain, can be summarised in the age-old adage: “don’t trust – verify”. 

Exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp, for example, hire reputable auditors – often one of the Big Four – to prove that you not only have the assets that you say you have, but also that you don’t have liabilities that exceed these assets. Deloitte audits Coinbase. EY audits Bitstamp.

And people are beginning to understand (or re-understand) the value that regulated, transparent and audited exchanges bring. Since October, the market share of exchanges like these has increased around 30 basis points. 

In fact, even amidst all the unbelievable activities that happened within FTX, the power of regulation shone through:

Based on our review over the past week, we are pleased to learn that many regulated or licensed subsidiaries of FTX, within and outside of the United States, have solvent balance sheets, responsible management, and valuable franchises.

John Ray, FTX Press Release, 19 November 2022

This is an extremely powerful symbol of the protection that regulation brings in our industry, which is so crucial for its long-term sustainable growth. 

If FTX was a decentralised exchange comprised of smart contracts, its activities might have been more transparent, verifiable and auditable – precluding many of the openings for fraud and mismanagement that are, ultimately, symptoms of centralised finance. 

But while we wait for increased adoption of DeFi, we need a robust, comprehensive regulatory framework that is suited for the industry’s current maturity levels and value. One that demands transparency, audits, reporting and regular scrutiny, and that empowers and equips regulators to detect and neutralise small explosions before they become nukes.

Return the Selection
Newsletter sign up

    Be the first to know about our latest news!

    By signing up you agree to the storage and handling of your data by this website in accordance with our privacy policy.*

    footer-logo
    About
    • Challenges
    • Solution
    • Partnerships
    • Testimonials
    • Press
    • Team
    • Grant
    Technology
    • Github
    • Market overview
    • Architecture
    • Milestones
    Resources
    • News
    • Documentation
    • Whitepaper
    • FAQ
    Get in touch
    • Contact

    © Aventus 2022

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookies Policy
    • T&Cs

    Thank you

    Your comments submitted to admin.

    By using this website, you acknowledge that Aventus is allowed to use cookies to identify you, the device you are using and to improve the functioning and the ease of use of this website. For more information, please review our Privacy Policy.
    I agreeI do not agree
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT