FTX's future went from being in the hands of the young disrupters to grizzled veteran lawyers
Welcome back. It's Dan DeFrancesco in NYC.
Today we've got stories on why financial advisors are having trouble navigating through all their tech tools, how the hedge funds got the VC game all wrong, and why your next trip out of Newark airport might not be terrible.
But first, the attorneys are here.
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1. Here come the fixers.
Friday marked the end of a chapter in one of the wildest stories in crypto history as FTX, a digital-currency exchange once valued at $32 billion, filed for bankruptcy.
The filing includes some 130 entities, painting a picture of just how expansive Sam Bankman-Fried's reach was in crypto, making for a crash that was all the more spectacular.
Where there is a bankruptcy filing, there are sure to be lawyers, and this group of attorneys doesn't disappoint.
The two key lawyers involved — who were profiled here by Insider's Jack Newsham — have quite the track record, including stints working with Enron, Michael Milken, and Elon Musk. (Speaking of lawyers, I'm sure mine would suggest adding I'm not saying these three names have anything in common.)
But it's not just their former clientele that's interesting.
FTX and its subsidiaries were known for not shying away from putting young people in positions of power, as eFinanicalCareers pointed out. Besides SBF, who is 30, Constance Woo, who served as FTX's COO, and Caroline Ellison, who was CEO of Alameda Research, were both 28.
However, as Jack put it to me, it's interesting to see the fate of the company go from "the young disrupters to the grizzled veterans."
Experience only takes you so far with a case like FTX, though. While bankruptcy cases are never simple, FTX could prove to be particularly difficult.
It's not just the size of it — 130 different entities are a lot to sort through — but the fact this all ties back to digital currencies. It's one thing to navigate a bankruptcy in fiat. It's another to have to also consider how to manage a variety of digital currencies and tokens whose valuations swing widely and aren't structured like traditional assets.
As Jack points out in his piece, that's why this Chapter 11 could quickly evolve into a Chapter 7 liquidation, meaning this goes from "Putting FTX in a position to eventually resume business," to "Sell anything that's not bolted to the ground."
Click here to read up on the two lawyers tasked with navigating what happens next with FTX.
In other news:
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5. The VCs are dancing on graves. Hedge funds like Tiger Global and Coatue were the talk of the town in venture investing last year, thanks to their aggressive bets and strategy. Now that the markets have soured, and those funds have taken a massive hit, traditional VCs are taking a victory lap. Here's where they say Wall Street got it wrong when it comes to VC.
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7. Tech sales ain't as easy as it looks! Salesforce evaluated employees in a way that actually set up some of its top salespeople to get axed, insiders say. Check out our exclusive report.
8. Newark airport might actually be nice? Terminal A at EWR, which got a $2.7 billion facelift, is expected to open before the end of the year. We've got some pictures on what you can expect.
9. It seems like it's going to come crashing down, so here's what to do about your job. From whether it's a good idea to switch jobs to the best way to ask for a raise, we've got you covered. Here is your ultimate guide to controlling your career during a recession.
10. "You can take the girl off Wall Street, but you can't take the banker out of the whore." That's the tagline for Mia Lee, a forensic-accountant-turned-high-end-escort. Read more about Lee's career change and how much she expects to make this year, which might end up making you consider a career change.
Keep updated with the latest business news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief. Listen here.
Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.