Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the failed crypto exchange FTX, is awaiting his sentencing after being convicted of all seven criminal counts against him. Just two years ago, Bankman-Fried was a revered figure in the crypto industry, living in a $35 million Bahamas penthouse and running one of the world’s most valuable crypto companies. Today, he is an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, awaiting his sentence for masterminding what has been described as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”
Bankman-Fried’s journey from crypto king to convicted conman began with the Kimchi Swap in 2017. As a quant trader at Jane Street, he noticed a pricing anomaly between Bitcoin prices across different crypto exchanges and capitalized on it. This led to the launch of Alameda Research and later FTX, which at its peak was valued at $32 billion.
However, the downfall of FTX began after a report raised questions about the balance sheet of Alameda Research, FTX’s sister firm. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO after FTX filed for bankruptcy and was later arrested. Despite his fall from grace, Bankman-Fried plans to appeal his conviction and sentence. His sentencing is expected to be delivered by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, with prosecutors recommending a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years.
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