Bestselling author of The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine and Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Michael Lewis reveals he is almost done writing about Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and FTX Crash book encryption exchange.
Lewis' forthcoming book on Bankman-Fried is titled Towards Infinity: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon. Lewis first met SBF in late 2021 when a friend invited him to meet and learn about the FTX founder. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami on May 19, Lewis did not provide a specific publication date, but said he hopes the book will be released in October when the SBF trial begins. However, a quick search on Amazon does reveal a tentative October 3rd release date for the book.
Lewis is reportedly close to finishing the book just before FTX’s infamous implosion in November 2022. The subsequent criminal charges against SBF added a whole new perspective to the story behind the former billionaire cryptocurrency mogul. Speaking at the Bitcoin conference, Lewis recounted the writing process, saying that the FTX drama ultimately saved the book.
"I thought 'I don't have a book,'" he said, adding: "I had this conversation with a guy that I used as a sounding board ... and he said, 'Your problem is you don't have a third act. You have the first two acts, but you don't have a third act.' And I said,'" That was absolutely true; I don't know how to end it. A week later, FTX blew up. I'm so grateful." The author doesn't want to give too many detailed overviews in the book, but says he was able to witness the FTX crash firsthand.
"The goal is to read like a novel," he said, adding, "If you don't know anything about encryption. If you don't even know who Sam Bankman-Fried is. You might think, 'It's just a made-up s story.'"
Lewis also revealed at the meeting that he owns a small amount of Bitcoin, Locked in FTX bankruptcy. Given Lewis' fascinating in-depth analysis of the key players and moments of the 2008 housing bubble crisis in The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, his next book on SBF is sure to hold some interesting insights. During his attendance, Lewis revealed that he interviewed SBF inner circle, FTX employees, and government officials in the Bahamas and the United States.
He also had access to SBF for two years, and the FTX founder continued to allow Lewis to interview him while he was under house arrest in Palo Alto, California.
