The first day of the criminal trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried saw mentions of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD, Dogecoin DOGE/USD, and Solana SOL/USD, but notably excluded FTX’s native token, FTT FTT/USD.
What Happened: Federal prosecutors portrayed Bankman-Fried as someone who stole billions of dollars from numerous individuals and misused their funds for personal gain.
According to a press release posted by the Justice Department, Bankman-Fried is being charged with “two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit campaign finance violations, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years.”
During the trial’s opening, the government’s first witnesses introduced the concept of cryptocurrencies to the jury. Commodities trader Marc-Antoine Julliard, who suffered losses due to FTX’s failure, mentioned Bitcoin and Ethereum as the main cryptocurrencies. He also recalled depositing Dogecoin into his FTX account.
The government’s second witness, Adam Yedidia, a former employee of Alameda and FTX, testified that he resigned upon discovering that FTX customer deposits were used to repay Alameda’s loan to creditors, reported Decrypt.
Despite the mention of popular cryptocurrencies, the FTT token received minimal attention throughout the proceedings.
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Why It Matters: The collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange, and its partner hedge fund Alameda Research in November 2022 was not a typical tale of crypto market volatility or investor risk.
Following his arrest, Bankman-Fried was granted release on a $250 million bond. However, in August 2023, his bail was revoked due to interference with a witness, resulting in his confinement at a Brooklyn jail. While the ongoing trial addresses the current charges against him, a separate trial in March 2024 awaits him.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty. His defense lawyer, Mark Cohen, argued that FTX’s downfall resulted from a “perfect storm,” despite Bankman-Fried’s good intentions and sound business practices.
Photo by Lev Radin on Shutterstock
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $27,362.22, down 0.86% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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