Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is sworn in as he appears in court for the first time since his November fraud conviction, at a courthouse in New York, U.S., February 21, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane RosenbergWhile not as harsh as the request from prosecutors for as much as 50 years, it should stand as a clear deterrent for aspiring fraudsters both in traditional finance and its decentralised offshoots.
Commentary: Credit Suisse, Silicon Valley Bank, FTX are reminders that risk and compliance shouldn’t be seen as a chore Neither of these arguments really made much headway, thankfully. US District Court Judge Lewis A Kaplan made clear that talk of FTX customers being made whole was"misleading" and"speculative", and didn’t negate the losses that Bankman-Fried’s crimes inflicted on his victims .
And it’s pretty amusing to note that some of the more hawkish voices after the sentencing came from crypto industry representatives, who are determined to erase the memory of FTX and other bad actors from investors’ minds as the industry rebounds to new heights.