When a cryptocurrency exchange holding $16 billion worth of customer deposits suddenly collapses, what does that portend for the future of the crypto industry? How did Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old founder of the company and the number two donor to the Democratic party ahead of the recent midterms, win the trust and evade the careful scrutiny of so many venture capitalists, institutional investors, celebrities, and U.S. regulators for so long? Is heavy-handed regulation coming to the world of crypto?

Join Reason's Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller this Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion of these questions and more with special guest Jesse Powell, the co-founder and CEO of Kraken, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Ask questions or leave comments ahead of or during the stream on the YouTube video above or at Reason's Facebook page here.

Photo credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom
Chapters
6:42 - The media myth of Sam Bankman-Fried
11:58 - Crypto can make people free
17:29 - The problems with FTX and crypto culture
23:45 - Sam Bankman-Fried and "regulatory moats"
28:59 - Regulatory capture in emerging industries
33:18 - Can crypto firms self-regulate?
42:52 - Bankman-Fried's giant political donations to Democrats
52:15 - The dangers of Central Bank Digital Currencies
57:53 - Bitcoin maximalism and "not your keys, not your coins"
1:08:57 - The case for financial privacy
1:14:17 - The future of money