The cryptocurrency tycoon, who was just sentenced to 25 years in prison, is stepping down from a sector that has begun to mature. If one picture sums up the cryptocurrency craze of 2021 and 2022, it’s of actor Matt Damon, composed and strong, reciting the age-old wisdom, “Fortune favors the brave.” Even though it was a clip from a Crypto.com advertisement, it managed to convey the ridiculousness of what the cryptocurrency space had claimed to offer at the time—not just a digital asset but also a ridiculously exaggerated picture of the future.
The Lengthy Battle With Court Ends With Bankman-Fried In Jail For 25 Years
That was all the opposite of Sam Bankman-Fried. The cryptocurrency tycoon had no grand ambitions to create futuristic cities powered by cryptocurrency or promote NFT video games with an ape theme. Despite being a perpetually messy Millennial who seemed to sleep on a bean bag, Bankman-Fried was the rule-abiding adult in the industry. He frequently stated that regulating cryptocurrencies was a good idea, even if it meant losing business. It appears that SBF was not a rule-follower. His $32 billion cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, abruptly stopped paying out customer deposits in November 2022 and went bankrupt shortly after. Nearly a year later, during a trial that saw his attorney refer to SBF as “the worst person [he’d] ever seen do a cross-examination,” the man was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.
A lengthy legal battle concluded this morning when Bankman-Fried was given a 25-year term in federal prison. This is one of the most dramatic setbacks in the history of American banking.
