Cryptocurrency backers on Friday celebrated the fraud conviction of the industry's one-time golden boy Sam Bankman-Fried, hoping the embattled sector can finally turn the page on a multibillion dollar scandal.
The "verdict should hopefully mark the end of a dark era in our industry," said Yat Siu, president of Animoca Brands, a video game publisher and investor in projects linked to blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies.
On Thursday, a New York jury found Bankman-Fried, known as "SBF," guilty of all seven counts against him, including fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
He was convicted of using customer funds deposited on his FTX cryptocurrency exchange platform to fuel risky investments and trades by his personal investment firm, Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried faces more than 100 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for March 28, 2024. He is expected to appeal.
The "swift and unanimous verdict confirms what we already knew: that SBF misled and deceived so many, from customers and employees to business partners and investors, including myself and Sequoia," said Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia, one of Silicon Valley's most reputable venture capital firms.
Thursday's decision "means another dead weight has been pried off of bitcoin. This is good... Onward," wrote Jeff Ross, founder of Vailshire Capital Management, which invests in cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients, on X.
The FTX implosion late last year was the dramatic conclusion of a sequence that began in the spring of 2022 when a series of cryptocurrency-related companies began to fail.
This period saw the value of bitcoin, the industry bellwether currency, plunge by two-thirds between the end of March and the end of November 2022.
Bitcoin took nearly a year to recover, and has only regained momentum in recent weeks.
"It's not a day to celebrate," tempered Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
"Billions in user funds were lost and our industry took a massive reputational hit. The only winners were a few law firms and various opponents of crypto," he added.
Nick Tomaino of investment firm 1confirmation pointed the finger at venture capitalists "who gave SBF hundreds of millions of dollars (and) are now taking victory laps because of a guilty verdict."
There was no "accountability for their horrible judgment or the soulless greed that sucked them into such a massive fraud."
Adams urged: "In the next cycle, our industry must do better."
The industry must "focus on technology and our values, spot the warning signs and avoid the personality cult sociopaths," he said.
Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Objectives:
The objectives of this text is to provide an overview of how the cryptocurrency industry reacted to the fraud conviction of Sam Bankman Fried and to explain the implications it has for the industry. Current
State-of-the-Art and Limitations:
The current state-of-the-art for the cryptocurrency industry is that it has been recovering from a dramatic decline in bitcoins value between the end of March and the end of November 202
2.Whats New in the Approach and Why it Will Succeed:
The approach of the text is to provide an overview of how the cryptocurrency industry reacted to the fraud conviction of Sam Bankman Fried and to explain the implications it has for the industry. The approach will succeed because it is providing an overview of an important event that will have major implications for the cryptocurrency industry.
Target Audience and Impact:
The target audience of this text is people who are invested in the cryptocurrency industry, as well as those interested in understanding the implications of the Bankman Fried conviction. The impact of the text is to provide an overview of how the cryptocurrency industry reacted to the fraud conviction of Sam Bankman Fried and to explain the implications it has for the industry.
Risks Involved:
The risks involved in pursuing this approach are that the cryptocurrency industry may face further volatility as a result of the Bankman Fried conviction and that there may be further legal action taken against Bankman Fried that could further affect the industry.
Cost of Pursuing:
The cost of pursuing this approach is minimal, as it is simply providing an overview of an event and its implications.Timeline for Achieving Results:
The timeline for achieving results is immediate, as the event has already taken place and its implications are being felt in the industry.Mid-Term and Final
Success Metrics:
The mid-term and final success metrics for this approach would be to assess the impact of the Bankman Fried conviction on the cryptocurrency industry and to measure the volatility of the industry.
DARPA Score: 8/10
This text provides a comprehensive overview of the implications of the Bankman Fried conviction for the cryptocurrency industry, which is of interest to DARPA. It provides an articulate summary of the objectives, assesses the current state-of-the-art and its limitations, explains whats new in the approach and why it will succeed, identifies the target audience and the impact if successful, evaluates the risks involved in pursuing this approach, estimates the cost of pursuing this approach, and estimates the timeline for achieving results. However, it is missing mid-term and final success metrics.
