In a turn of events that seems straight out of a palace intrigue novel, a source on Twitter has released unconfirmed audio of (allegedly) ex-Pharma exec Martin Shkreli making unverified claims that he was the one behind SBF and FTX’s stunning downfall.
For all those curious, here's a link to the tweet with audio. I have archived it as well in case it evaporates:
https://twitter.com/JohnBelitsky/status/1590703321438121985?embedable=true
Transcript below:
“FTX is done and we did what we had to do to them and it's over. Uhm, Bankman got what he deserved and he shouldn't have talked to us like that, and now you know, you reap what you sow so I don't have any problems with doing, you know, whatever, like, you know, it's his fault, you know at the end of the day, but if we, you know, helped tip him off of the, I guess the precipice off the cliff, then you know he shouldn't have been on the cliff in the first place, so I don't feel guilty, uhm, you know, it is what it is, you know, that's life. Uh, anyway, I gotta do this podcast or whatever, so, see you later. Alright bro, see you on Friday, alright.”
The audio is allegedly from the end of a Twitter space that occurred on November 9th, 2022, according to the source who posted it.
I came across this potential Shakespearean intrigue when Shkreli tweeted:
I stumbled upon Martin Shkreli's tweet on the evening of November 9th, 2022. At that point, the information contained therein had not yet been confirmed, or as I’m aware, reported by any other sources.
Given my interest, I reached out to Shkreli directly via InMail on LinkedIn, asking for an interview to discuss his data in greater detail. Since his tweet made it appear as though this was public information, I assumed that he would be open to discussing it further.
Imagine my surprise when, less than 24 hours later, he responded with a simple message: "hey, looks like I was right lol." His reply struck me as interesting, so I doubled back to do more research. That's when I realized that something more appeared to have happened.
Searching Twitter, I found a tweet (link at top of article) of the 45-second-long recording of, according to the source, Shkreli's Twitter Space.
It was accompanied by the following words from the source:
"I think it's crazy that of the ~350 ppl left on this zoom, nobody else even mentioned the part when Shkreli takes a call, claims to have conspired w the caller to push SBF off a cliff, and then his account is immediately suspended.
Idk I find this more than mildly intriguing.”
I contacted the source and also read through their tweets from the day. I pieced the following together. It appears that on the evening of November 9th, Shkreli conducted a twitter space.
The source says that moments after the Space ended, Shkreli’s account was suspended.
The Tweeter seemed to believe this was a "hot-mic" moment. It's unclear from the recording if it was.
Many questions remain. Was it Shkreli on the recording?
If it was, did he actually play a role in the FTX downfall, or was this something else entirely?
Viewing the recording, it does appear to be Shkreli. However, without further evidence, we cannot say for certain that he is responsible for the FTX downfall.
Shkreli’s account was indeed suspended that night, confirming that part of the source’s account. I myself witnessed this in real time.
He appears to have had access to information about FTX's balance sheet, raising questions about his role in the drama.
In a follow-up InMail to the former Pharma exec, I asked him if he was the source of Binance's data on FTX's insolvency. As of writing, he has yet to return a comment.
His alleged remarks raise more questions than answers, but one thing is clear: it appears he had access to data that only a few people had on Wednesday afternoon.
Shkreli was released from prison earlier this year. He appears to have entered the Blockchain space.
Shkreli is purportedly working on a Decentralized drug computing project.
He was permanently suspended from Twitter in 2017. It's unclear how, and for how long, he had managed to have his ban lifted before being banned again on Wednesday.
If his admission in the Twitter space is true, he may have been, as per CZ's tweet, the "straw that broke the camel's back".
If that is true, the question remains: how?
I think we may find out.
This is a developing story.
Featured Image created with AI.
Til next time crypto explorers, stay vigilant!