On Twitter, people have been criticizing mainstream media (MSM) for their reports on the FTX‘s collapse. They would be far too gentle with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and almost protect him. Allegedly, they received a lot of money from SBF, as did politicians and celebrities. Consequently, they would not be very critical. Now, it has been revealed that the crypto magazine The Block and its CEO have received $43 million from SBF. This extensive and total crypto corruption sets new standards.
The Block (website), a news outlet that claims to cover crypto news independently, has been secretly funded for over a year with money funneled to The Block‘s CEO Mike McCaffrey from the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried‘s crypto trading firm Alameda. The company does not make profits. It had previously raised over $4 million across convertible notes from venture firms, including Greycroft, Pantera, BlockTower Capital, and Bloomberg Beta, Axios reported.
Michael McCaffrey resigned after the loans have been exposed. Bobby Moran, The Block’s chief revenue officer, took over the CEO job. However, The Block will be regarded as damaged goods.
Sam used stolen & counterfeit money to corrupt the establishment & undermine #bitcoin. This is just the tip of the iceberg. How many other journalists, academics, money managers, politicians, charities, influencers, & lobbyists did he corrupt or co-opt?
Michael Saylor, Bitcoin Evangelist
The money from Alameda was received by legal entities controlled by Mike McCaffrey. He received a total of three loans:
- McCaffrey used the first loan, for $12 million in April 2021, to fund a management buyout of The Block via MJMCCAFFREY LLC.
- The second loan, for $15 million in Jan. 2022, provided capital for the Block via Lonely Road LLC.
- The third loan of $16 million in the spring of 2022 went to Red Sea LLC, which McCaffrey used, in part, to buy an apartment in the Bahamas.
There is probably no superlative left out in the context of SBF and its crypto empire around FTX and Alameda. This also applies to the corruption of the media and the public.
