| On a crisp autumn morning in Brooklyn, Zeke Faux sat in his home office in front of a Zoom virtual background featuring a mocked up gold cryptocurrency coin with Sam Bankman-Fried’s profile on it and inscribed with a Latin phrase Faux described as an Easter Egg that means “It is worth nothing”. The Bloomberg investigative reporter had just released the paperback version of his first book, “Number Go Up,” a searing exposé of the cryptocurrency world that has already made waves in financial circles. A chapter is included in the paperback edition that contains new information, since the hardback edition was released just before Bankman-Fried went on trial. But Faux’s journey into the heart of crypto mania wasn’t one he initially sought out.
“I was resistant to the idea of investigating crypto,” Faux admitted, leaning back in his chair. “As a longtime investigative reporter focused on financial fraud, I thought it was all too obvious. I like untangling complex schemes, figuring out how the perpetrators think they might get away with it. But with crypto, it seemed so blatant.”
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