• The latest episode of “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver highlighted the implosions of Terra, Celsius, and FTX.
• These companies had a facade of expertise that quickly crumbled, exposing the chaos that lay beneath.
• Oliver cleverly emphasizes that confidence is the most significant currency in cryptocurrencies, where trust holds immense value.
Cryptocurrencies: A Volatile Subject
The latest episode of “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver tackled the volatile subject of cryptocurrencies. In particular, it highlighted the implosions of Terra, Celsius, and FTX.
Terra’s Confidence Game
Terra was a supposedly stable cryptocurrency launched in 2018 by South Korean entrepreneur Do Kwan. Kwan’s confidence game worked for a while, with Luna’s value ballooning to $40 billion. However, several big trades destabilized the price and people rushed to sell Terra leaving its value at zero.
Celsius’ Risky Business
Celsius was founded by Alex Mashinsky as an alternative to traditional banks which he claimed was “one of the least risky businesses regulators worldwide have ever seen.” Unfortunately investigators found Mashinsky was making incredibly risky loans and using customer funds to pay high yields resembling a Ponzi scheme. Celsius owes customers $4.7 billion, with tens of thousands still having their digital assets trapped on the platform.
FTX’s Failure Exposes Corporate Control Issues
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange hyped by celebrities collapsed in 2022 costing billions of dollars and its billionaire founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on charges of defrauding investors. This exposed failure in corporate controls and lack of trustworthy financial information.
Oliver Emphasizes The Value Of Trust & Confidence In Cryptocurrencies
John Oliver cleverly highlights how these three companies all had one common denominator; they all possessed a facade of expertise that quickly crumbled exposing chaos underneath them all suggesting that confidence is one of the most significant currencies when it comes to cryptocurrencies due to its reliance on trust holding immense value within its system