Quartz
Is FTX the Federal Reserve of crypto?
The cryptocurrency industry sometimes markets itself as an alternative to the traditional financial system and its dependence on the US Federal Reserve, but this week crypto investors are learning how useful it is to have a lender of last resort. As the industry weathers a bear market that’s destroyed $2 trillion, Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX gave crypto lender BlockFi a $250 million loan. The head of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, also owns quant trading firm Alameda Research which last week extended a revolving line of credit to crypto broker Voyager Digital last week.
