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Has the FTX Debacle Discredited Effective Altruism?

Some observers have linked the alleged financial malpractice by the cryptocurrency magnate Sam Bankman-Fried to ideas widely held within the “effective altruism” movement, which Bankman-Fried says inspired him. But effective altruists are right: sometimes the end really does justify the means.

PRINCETON – In the wake of the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and amid reports that FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, diverted billions of dollars of clients’ funds, some observers have linked the alleged financial malpractice to ideas widely held within the “effective altruism” movement, which Bankman-Fried says inspired him. More specifically, they point to the ethical view that the end justifies the means.

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