‘Effective Altruism’ Is Now A Bad Word, Says Binance CEO CZ

• Michael Saylor stated that Bitcoin is ‘effective altruism.’
• However, Binance’s CEO said the term now has a negative connotation.
• “Effective altruism laid the foundations for FTX Ponzi,” says the community.

One of the leading proponents of crypto adoption, Michael Saylor, declared on Twitter that Bitcoin is an ‘effective altruism.’ However, Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire chief executive officer of Binance, commented that the term ‘effective altruism’ now has a negative connotation.

Zhao’s comment stems from the recent collapse of the SBF-led crypto exchange, FTX. Before FTX went bankrupt early this month, its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was a staunch proponent of the ‘effective altruism’ philosophy. As Bankman-Fried’s crypto business became insolvent, the crypto community kept taunting him with his failed philosophy.

Saifedean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard, argued that the ‘effective altruism’ and utilitarianism mantra laid the foundations for what he described as “the FTX Ponzi.” Ammous added:

If you convince yourself you’re working for the greater good, all means are justified.

According to a Wikipedia definition, Effective altruism (EA) is a philosophical and social movement that advocates “using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis.”

However, verified Twitter user @growing_daniel expressed an opposing view, saying the core principle of effective altruism is that a person may steal, cheat, or murder to fund an EA charity. Their perspective aligns with the dominant view in the crypto community, where most people believed the FTX leadership had used customers’ money to support philanthropic causes.

FTX used to be the second-largest crypto exchange after Binance. In the last few months, the now-bankrupt crypto firm acquired multiple insolvent crypto businesses while positioning itself as a successful company.