Billy Markus, co-founder of the widely-known meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, has taken to Twitter to reveal a surprising detail about Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that faced bankruptcy. Markus, who is active on Twitter and has engaged with Elon Musk on the platform, shared a shocking revelation about Bankman-Fried’s ambitious plans before FTX’s collapse.
According to Markus, Bankman-Fried had intended to acquire Nauru Island, the world’s smallest island state, as part of a survival strategy for FTX and his trading firm Alameda Research. The plan, outlined in court filings related to FTX’s bankruptcy in Delaware, involved building a “bunker/shelter” on the island to protect against potential catastrophic events that could impact a significant portion of the global population, such as a massive fire or flood.
The bunker was also conceived as a potential lab where survivors, including members of the effective altruism movement, could establish “sensible regulation around human genetic enhancement.” However, the choice of Nauru Island, known for instances of money laundering in its history, added an intriguing element to Bankman-Fried’s survival plan.
Despite the ethical concerns raised by this revelation, including questions about the alignment of Bankman-Fried’s actions with the principles of effective altruism, it was later clarified by a representative for Nauru that the island was not and has never been for sale.
The situation surrounding Bankman-Fried becomes more complex as he faces accusations of defrauding FTX customers of approximately $8 billion in cryptocurrencies held in the platform’s wallets. John Deaton, founder of Crypto-Law.US and a vocal Ripple/XRP advocate, criticized Bankman-Fried’s actions, suggesting that had FTX not filed for bankruptcy, he could have potentially saved the business and himself from legal consequences.
This revelation adds a layer of intrigue to the already turbulent story of FTX’s collapse and raises further questions about the ethical considerations of the actions taken by prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry.
