Apple TV+ Nears Deal to Land Story of FTX Rise and Fall

Apple is reportedly nearing a deal for the book rights to a story from Michael Lewis, the author who wrote Moneyball, The Big Short, and The Blind Side, about Sam Bankman-Fried and the collapse of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX — reports Deadline.

Lewis spent six months tailing SBF for his book before the entrepreneur and his crypto exchange (rather spectacularly) crashed and burned. According to people familiar with the proceedings, Lewis’ deal with Apple is worth mid-seven figures.

Apple reportedly plans to turn Lewis’ book into a feature film for Apple TV+, possibly with Adam McKay attached. McKay adapted The Big Short, another of Lewis’ entertaining financial stories, for the big screen. Sources said the project was also being pursued by Amazon Studios, Netflix, and Sugar23.

Bankman-Fried, once worth billions and hailed as a successful entrepreneur who cracked the crypto code, suffered a fall from grace earlier this month when his brainchild, FTX, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. He stepped down as CEO at the same time.

The events leading up to FTX’s bankruptcy, while months in the making, unravelled over the course of days. FTX’s bankruptcy was followed by reports of excessive borrowing, misappropriated customer funds, denied withdrawals, and a “hack” that siphoned over $600 million from the exchange.

The popular exchange’s collapse cast a shadow over the crypto ecosystem as a whole, tanking the value of many coins. FTX’s almost-instant descent and the resulting aftermath are so profound — yet bizarre — that they would make for an intriguing movie premise. Lewis’ book is only one of several projects on the rise and fall of FTX.

Beyond original movies, Apple TV+ is also looking to push further into sports. In addition, Apple is gearing up to bring advertisements to the streaming platform next year.

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