Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the FTX fraud scheme. He was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion, meaning he must drain any funds not recovered in the bankruptcy proceedings.
However, there was a widespread perception in the cryptocurrency community that the sentence was too low.
Dan Held, general partner at Asymmetric, said: said The judgment was “not long enough considering his actions, his feelings about his actions and the actual harm caused”.
The collapse of FTX resulted in losses of approximately $8 billion. The estate is trying to recover as much money as possible, including through the sale of the locked Solana. We expect a 100% recovery in dollar terms. However, this still leaves many creditors with significant losses in cryptocurrency terms.
Comparison with other famous cases
Jake Chervinsky, Variant Fund’s chief legal officer, pointed out that Bankman-Fried’s sentence was much lower than that of Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to two life terms and 40 years in prison for his role in organizing Silk Road. “This is not justice,” he said. Posted At X.
Nic Carter, partner at Castle Island Ventures. Added“I feel tremendous pain and compassion for Ross Ulbricht.”
Whistleblower Edward Snowden was surprised Bankman-Fried received a lower sentence than fellow whistleblower Chelsea Manning. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” said.
Others compared the ruling to the current trial of Alexey Pertsev, who is scheduled to be sentenced to five years in prison on charges related to Tornado Cash. “Doesn’t that make you angry? SBF puts 25 (the investigation will come out early) Pertsev on trial for defrauding the whole world and writing a smart contract and gets the same or worse treatment.” said Seraphim Czecker, head of growth at Ethena Labs.
Cryptocurrency market continues to move
Several experts said Bankman-Fried’s sentencing could be the end of this chapter for the cryptocurrency industry.
“We are focused on the cryptocurrency market, and this trial is the conclusion of a regrettable episode that moved the market. Enron did not prove that all energy markets were a fraud, and Madoff did not prove that all hedge funds were a barometer. “We believe in the robustness of the cryptocurrency market and support the prosecution of malicious actors,” said Michael Silberberg, head of investor relations at Alt Tab Capital.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken added that the industry must learn lessons as it moves forward.
“Sam Bankman-Fried built his empire on false promises and stealing customer funds. SBF is now facing consequences, but this cannot undo the enormous damage he has caused to millions of people and the cryptocurrency industry,” the exchange said. a spokesperson said. “Good cryptocurrency actors must set the tone by improving education, calling out bad actors, and adhering to cryptocurrency’s fundamental principles of private ownership and public verifiability.”
However, cryptocurrency influencer Sisyphus observed“SBF’s sentencing time is ‘short’ but still meaningfully long compared to the length of time the cryptocurrency industry has existed.”
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