Legitimacy increased for the cryptocurrency market when prosecutors successfully convinced the courts that Sam Bankman-Fried was guilty on all seven criminal counts related to fraud and conspiracy.
SBF, who founded FTX, took billions of customer deposits and faked the company’s balance sheets. He used the funds on speculative investments and provided liquidity injections to its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research. FTX also donated millions to politicians.
The ruling is a positive development for crypto markets. The industry needed a legal system to prosecute SBF. For the next few years, customers who lost money will get at least some of their funds back.
The ruling works in lifting Bitcoin (BTC) prices further. After the SEC lost its case to prevent possible Bitcoin ETF products, BTC rose from below $25,000. In the last week, it traded at around $34,500 to as high as 34,500 to as high as $35,812.80.
In addition to SBF’s sentencing date of March 28, 2024, he will face another trial earlier that month. Those monumental events will further increase confidence in the use of cryptocurrencies and platforms.
Your Takeaway
The verdict strengthened the message that crypto platforms are not above the rule of law. It will increase demand for the biggest crypto, Bitcoin. BTC will likely outperform speculative assets like stocks in the year ahead.
