Lewis revealed during the Bitcoin Miami 2023 conference that he had interviewed everyone from SBF’s trusted confidants to dedicated FTX employees and even government officials from the Bahamas and the United States.
The literary world is about to witness a spectacular showdown between ink and intrigue as the master of financial storytelling himself, Michael Lewis, is preparing to unleash his literary prowess on the enigmatic world of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and the infamous collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.
Lewis, known for his bestsellers like “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” and “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game,” recently revealed that he’s nearly completed his magnum opus on the rise and fall of this new tycoon. The tantalizing title of the upcoming book? “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon.”
The story of Lewis’s encounter with SBF began in the twilight of 2021, when a curious friend implored him to meet the FTX founder and get a sense of the man behind the legend. Little did Lewis know that this chance encounter would catapult him into the heart of a financial hurricane.
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, Lewis kept the crowd on the edge of their seats, refusing to divulge an exact release date. However, he did offer a tantalizing hint: he wants the book to drop around the same time as SBF’s trial in October. A quick search on Amazon shows a tentative release date of October 3.
Lewis’s writing journey took an unexpected turn when FTX imploded in November 2022, leaving the world of crypto reeling. But as fate would have it, this catastrophe breathed new life into Lewis’s manuscript, injecting it with a third act of epic proportions. With a gleam in his eye, Lewis recounted the moment of realization, saying, “I thought, ‘I don’t have a book.’ And then it happened. FTX blew up! I was so grateful!”
Eager to keep his readers guessing, Lewis refused to reveal too many details about the book. However, he did tease that he witnessed FTX’s meltdown firsthand, painting a vivid picture of chaos and calamity. He aimed to create a narrative so engrossing that even those unfamiliar with crypto or SBF would be swept away, believing they were reading a thrilling work of fiction.
In a surprising revelation, Lewis admitted to owning a modest amount of Bitcoin locked up in the FTX bankruptcy. Perhaps this personal stake adds an extra layer of intensity to his storytelling, infusing it with a sense of urgency and personal connection. We can only imagine the wild journey Lewis has embarked upon, hopping from one high-stakes interview to another, delving deep into the inner circle of SBF and FTX.
Just as Lewis expertly dissected the key players and pivotal moments of the 2008 housing bubble crisis in “The Big Short,” we can expect his upcoming book on SBF to provide fascinating insights into the enigmatic world of crypto moguls. During his appearance at the conference, Lewis revealed that he had interviewed everyone from SBF’s trusted confidants to dedicated FTX employees and even government officials from the Bahamas and the United States.
It’s worth noting that Lewis’s commitment to his craft knows no bounds. Even during SBF’s house arrest in Palo Alto, California, the tenacious author was granted continued interviews, uncovering nuggets of truth amidst the chaos.