‘Party Time!’ Crypto Land Celebrates as Sam Bankman-Fried Is Found Guilty

Yesterday evening at 7:33 pm, Sam Bankman-Fried, the creator of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was convicted on seven charges of fraud and conspiracy. This news was a relief for those in the cryptocurrency world.

According to Noelle Acheson, an analyst who used to work for cryptocurrency broker Genesis, the recent ruling was a major source of comfort. In November of last year, the scandal surrounding FTX caused a lot of turmoil in the crypto industry, and since then, regulatory bodies and typical investors have been viewing the industry in an undeservedly negative light. However, Acheson argues that the fact that Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud will serve to bring the unpleasant affair to a close and begin moving past it.

Even though the conviction won't have much impact on how much money is retrieved during the FTX bankruptcy case, those who lost money due to Bankman-Fried's theft are still feeling jubilant after the verdict. As a former FTX customer, Pat Rabbitte shares this sentiment by saying, "I'm overjoyed that the US legal system has rightfully ruled on this matter."

Lewis Kaplan, the judge who was in charge of the case will declare the sentence for Bankman-Fried on March 28. Rabbitte said a long prison term would make sure the next person who tries to do what SBF did would think twice before doing so. On Telegram, where ex-FTX customers communicate about the bankruptcy proceeding, others stated similar opinions. Krystal B, one of the Telegram users, wrote "Party time! Throw away the keys," after finding out about the verdict. Jia Yi, another user, said, "Now lock him up for at least 30 years."

Patrick Hillmann, ex-chief strategy officer at Binance, has criticized Bankman-Fried and FTX for their unethical behavior. He believes that their misdeeds have been used against their competitors in the crypto industry. Hillmann states that their actions were nothing but fraudulent and deserves the same punishment if they were involved in a Pokémon card exchange.

After the verdict was announced, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, released a statement. Williams seemed to agree with those in the crypto community who had been saying that this was not solely a crypto-related case. Williams accused Sam Bankman-Fried of committing an old-fashioned act of fraud. According to Williams, Bankman-Fried was involved in a multibillion-dollar financial scam that aimed to turn him into the "King of Crypto". Williams went on to say that while the crypto industry is relatively new, corruption such as this has always existed. In the end, Williams made it clear that lying, cheating, and stealing will not be tolerated.

When a trial is coming to a close, the amount of time the jury spends considering their verdict can be different depending on the case. It can range from several hours to several days. In Bankman-Fried's case, the jury only deliberated for under five hours before finding him guilty on all charges. The prosecution was successful in convincing the jury that Bankman-Fried had masterminded and supervised a fraud scheme worth billions of dollars as outlined in the indictment filed against him last December.

Although many in the crypto industry will see Bankman-Fried's conviction as a just outcome, according to Hillmann, we cannot celebrate too soon because the underlying conditions that allowed him to establish himself as a successful entrepreneur remain unchanged. Within just three years, Bankman-Fried managed to build a fraudulent business worth $32 billion, with the support of regulators, politicians, and investors. He also developed relationships with celebrities and sports stars, and impressed reporters with his casual dress sense. Many even compared him to Warren Buffet and Michael Jordan in terms of his success within the crypto industry.

Hillmann expresses concern that entrepreneurs such as Bankman-Fried, and others like Elizabeth Holmes and Bernie Madoff, have been able to gain high levels of respect from powerful organizations through unethical means. This is worrying because it suggests that those responsible for monitoring their actions were not doing their job properly, potentially allowing for harmful activities to take place. Hillmann predicts that similar individuals are likely to emerge in the future.