Michael Saylor, a prominent proponent of cryptocurrency adoption, stated on Twitter that Bitcoin is “effective altruism.” Changpeng Zhao, the rich CEO of Binance, said that the term “effective altruism” now has a bad connotation.
Effective altruism, in my opinion, is a dirty word nowadays.
— CZ Binance on November 15, 2022 (@czbinance)
Zhao’s remark is a response to the recent failure of the SBF-led cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. Before FTX filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of this month, its creator, Sam Bankman-Fried, was a fervent supporter of the “effective altruism” school of thought. The crypto community continued to mock Bankman Fried as his cryptocurrency business went bankrupt because of his flawed mindset.
Related: As the Binance deal falls through, FTX’s CEO is looking at all of his options.
The Bitcoin Standard’s author, Saifedean Ammous, argued that the utilitarian and “effective altruism” ideologies served as the cornerstones of what he called “the FTX Ponzi.” Ammous also said
All measures are justified if you can convince yourself that you are contributing to the greater good.
Effective altruism, or EA, is a philosophical and social movement that promotes “using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible and taking action on that basis,” according to a Wikipedia definition.
The core tenet of effective altruism, according to verified Twitter user @growing Daniel, is that someone may steal, cheat, or even kill in order to fund an EA charity. Their viewpoint is consistent with the widely held belief in the cryptocurrency world, where the majority of individuals thought the FTX leadership had used client funds to promote charitable endeavours.
Effective altruism High priests constantly scrutinise charities and the value of causes, but they don’t seem to pay any attention to where the money comes from, which is darkly humorous. November 12, 2022, techAdjacentLurker (@lurker tech).https://t.co/ALkReYcYSY
Prior to Binance, FTX was the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange. In the past few months, the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency company bought a number of other cryptocurrency companies that were in trouble, but it made it seem like it was a successful business.
Related: As the Binance-FTX deal cools the market, cryptocurrencies try to stay steady.
Effective altruism is now a dirty word, according to Binance CEO CZ, who first appeared on Coin Edition.
