Is Michael Lewis Throwing Out His Reputation to Defend Sam Bankman-Fried?

You might be surprised to hear just how many people in crypto cite Michael Lewis, the former Wall St. bond slinger turned biggest living finance writer, as their favorite author. Many in the industry still wholeheartedly believe that crypto is something of a reformation event for the church of capital, a way to clear away decades of bureaucracy, become more personally involved in personal finances and align the world with the professed ideals of redistribution, inclusion and equality. And many see Lewis as an Abrahamic figure because of his role exposing the rot at the center of modern finance most notably through “The Big Short,” the 2008 best seller adopted by Michael Scorsese for the big screen.

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And so, if I tell you that Lewis has essentially become persona non grata within the world of crypto, it’s with a heavy heart. Almost overnight, Lewis’ reputation as the Virgil of Wall St., the financial crime writing extraordinaire, has tanked — all due to what can only be described as a profoundly ill-advised “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday, which served as the kickoff media event for his latest book “Going Infinite.” It was an appearance that all but solidified the idea that “Going Infinite” (Lewis’ 21st book), will be a hagiography of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the now bankrupt crypto exchange, and one that raised serious questions about Lewis’ role in this long nightmare.

We should caveat this with a few hugely important details: almost no one outside of publisher Norton or Lewis’ circle has read the book, which publishes tomorrow, coinciding with the start of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, where the disgraced founder is set to plead not guilty to multiple counts of fraud. It’s also forgivable that Lewis, like most reporters with direct access to SBF, missed the red flags at FTX. Bankman-Fried was a media phenomenon, a self-made billionaire who stood for capitalism done right — represented by his political donations, charitable commitments and shabby attire (even if he didn’t exactly come from rags).

Things that now seem like obvious warning signs, like FTX’s meteoric…