- Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years for the securities fraud conspiracy that paralyzed his crypto exchange and a related hedge fund.
- Meme coin based on SBF rallied and crashed as Judge Kaplan handed down jail time for the former FTX CEO.
Sam Bankman-Fried Gets 25 Years
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 28, 2024.
He was previously convicted for massive fraud and conspiracy that paralyzed his crypto exchange and a related hedge fund.
Surprisingly, the sentence in Manhattan federal court was significantly less than the 40 to 50 years in prison prosecutors recommended.
However, it was more than five to six years that SBF attorneys suggested. SBF was the first person linked to the FTX exchange and Alameda Research to face price following the exchange’s collapse
There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future. And it’s not trivial risk at all.
Judge Lewis Kaplan stated before reading the sentence.
In addition, Sam Bankman-Fried will need to pay $11 billion in forfeiture to the U.S government.
The $11 billion will repay FTX investors who lost $1.7 billion, lenders who lost $1.3 billion, and customers who lost $8 billion.
SBF Guilty of Witness Tampering and Perjury
Bankman-Fried was also found guilty of witness tampering, which led the Judge to revoke bail in Aug 2023.
He also committed perjury based on his testimony at trial on FTX user funds. Judge Kaplan acknowledged SBF’s social awkwardness.
He reiterated that the disgraced crypto entrepreneur knew he was at fault but would never admit a thing.
He went on to state that the punishment for the crimes SBF committed must fit the seriousness of it.
Judge Kaplan admitted that when Bankman wasn’t lying, he was evasive, hair-splitting, and trying to rephrase the questions.
Notably, the Southern District of New York docket entry indicates that the Judge will reduce SBF’s time already served from his sentence.
Before the sentencing, SBF spoke remorsefully, suggesting that the billions lost resulted from a liquidity crisis and not fraud.
What Happened Next?
Before handing down the SBF sentence, a developer launched a meme coin called Sam Baseman Fraud.
The developer humorously sported the ticker FTX—on the Coinbase layer 2 network Base.
In a few hours, the FTX meme coin surged more than 23,300%, and its market cap peaked at $1.5 million on March 28, 2024.
However, it went off to sell off harshly, dumping approximately more than 85% in three hours.
However, the meme coin’s price has leveled out, hovering around the $0.06 mark. This is still a decline of about 60% from its ATH.
Interestingly, two hours after sentencing, another SBF-themed meme coin, Som Bonkmon Fraud, launched on Solana (SOL).
Initially, the Solana-based SBF meme coin rallied to a market cap of around $20 million. This is a staggering 18,000% from its launch value of $30,000.
Like the first meme coin, it sold off fast, plummeting more than 95% from its all-time high (ATH).
Notably, FTX Token (FTT) for the defunct exchange also went down by more than 16% after the news of the sentencing.
Is the 25-year sentencing end of Sam Bankman-Fried as Crypto King in the industry?
Susan Oh
Susan Oh is a leading figure in the integration of AI and blockchain for social good, serving as the CMO for BeOmni by Beyond Imagination and a civic technologist dedicated to creating scalable solutions. She is a board member of the Blockchain Commission For Sustainable Development supported by the UN GA Office of Partnerships, and a member of the Global Sustainability Network, a joint initiative by the Vatican and the Church of England to combat human trafficking. Recognized with the...
