Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried, once a pivotal figure in the cryptocurrency industry, was convicted in November 2023 of committing fraud and conspiracy for stealing billions of dollars of money belonging to customers of his FTX crypto exchange, funneling the money to Alameda Research, his hedge fund. FTX had been one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges before its demise, a major player in derivatives trading including perpetual futures. The company's undoing was spurred by a CoinDesk scoop in November 2022 showing Alameda's balance sheet was mysteriously full of the FTT token issued by FTX – calling into question both Alameda and FTX's financial stability. The Bahamas-based company filed for bankruptcy nine days after the story. Before his downfall, SBF (as the former billionaire is commonly known as) had been a leading figure in crypto, pushing for regulation of the industry in the U.S. He was a major political donor and the public face of effective altruism, a movement geared toward maximizing the amount of good done by philanthropy. SBF was arrested in December 2022, and his bail was revoked due to alleged witness tampering. His trial began in October 2023, and he was convicted on Nov. 2, 2023, a year to the day after the CoinDesk story that caused his crypto empire to crumble.


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From Sam Bankman-Fried to Alex Mashinsky: Comparing Crypto Related Court Battles

After crypto lender Celsius declared bankruptcy, its founder and former chief executive officer, Alex Mashinsky was arrested on allegations of misleading investors and manipulating its native token, CEL. CoinDesk managing editor for global policy and regulation Nikhilesh De, compares the similarities between the cases against Mashinsky and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Plus, insights on the legal developments Mashinsky could be facing in 2024.

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Crypto Court Battles: What to Expect in 2024

Pending court cases that could have a large impact on the crypto industry are top of mind for many market watchers as 2024 nears. CoinDesk managing editor for global policy and regulation, Nikhilesh De, shares an update on the legal developments FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky will face next year.

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A Look Back at the State of Crypto Regulation in 2023

2023 was an eventful year for the digital assets industry. Ripple won a partial victory against the SEC, TradFi giants like BlackRock entered the spot bitcoin ETF race and FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried was found guilty of fraud. Blockchain Association Director of Government Relations Ron Hammond discusses how the crypto regulation has changed in the past 12 months. Plus, his outlook on upcoming regulatory developments in 2024.

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How the SEC Cracked Down on Crypto in 2023

"CoinDesk Daily" host Jennifer Sanasie takes a look back on some of the crypto-related enforcement actions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2023. The agency says it filed 784 enforcement actions this year, which included charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon.

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How the Crypto Sector Has Changed After Sam Bankman-Fried's Conviction

"The Cryptopians" author and "Unchained" podcast host Laura Shin weighs in on how the crypto industry has changed since the collapse of FTX and the recent conviction of the exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried. "The crypto community turned against Sam once they realized that some legislation that he was championing in Congress would benefit centralized actors," Shin said. After the collapse of FTX, she heard from entrepreneurs that "they really learned their lesson."

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Cathie Wood Speculates About SEC's Prior Rejections of Spot ETF Applications

"The Cryptopians" author and "Unchained" podcast host Laura Shin discusses the latest headlines shaping the crypto industry, including FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's conviction and institutional interest growing within the digital assets space. This comes as ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said on CNBC that it's hard to come up with a logical reason for why SEC Chair Gary Gensler is standing in the way of a spot bitcoin ETF.

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A 20+ Year Sentence? Why the Evidence Against SBF Was Too Hard to Overcome

In this episode of Unchained, Laura does a detailed unpacking of the historic Sam Bankman-Fried trial and verdict with defense lawyer Sam Enzer and former Southern District of New York prosecutor Rich Cooper.

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How Does a Tax Deduction Work if an Exchange Enters Bankruptcy?

As part of CoinDesk's Tax Week 2023, Miles Fuller, Head of Government Solutions at TaxBit, joins "First Mover" to explain how FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's guilty verdict could give some clarity for FTX customers waiting to figure out where they stand in the company's bankruptcy proceedings and the tax treatment of any losses incurred. "The taxpayer needs to be able to show that they lost their money due to theft," Fuller said. The conviction of Bankman-Fried is going to give the customers "the ammunition they need."

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Tax Implications Following Sam Bankman-Fried's Conviction

As part of CoinDesk's Tax Week 2023, TaxBit Head of Government Solutions Miles Fuller discusses how the end of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trial could provide some clarity for FTX customers as to how the company’s bankruptcy might affect their taxes. However, how the IRS might act in the context of illegal activity remains unclear.

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