In a dramatic conclusion to a longstanding rivalry between two crypto billionaires, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, both have been sentenced to prison.
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, was handed a sentence of four months in prison. This verdict was delivered at a federal courthouse in Seattle, marking the end of an intense battle between Zhao and Bankman-Fried, who were both key stewards of the $2.2 trillion crypto sector.
On the other hand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, received a 25-year prison sentence for his crimes. He was convicted of seven criminal counts, including charges related to stealing billions of dollars from FTX’s customers. His sentencing took place a month earlier in downtown Manhattan.
Both Zhao and Bankman-Fried were bitcoin billionaires who ran their own global cryptocurrency exchanges. They spent much of their professional career selling the public on a new, tech-powered world order, where an alternative financial system comprised of borderless virtual coins would liberate the oppressed by eliminating middlemen like banks and the overreach of the government.
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