Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

The judgment against FTX-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been felled. He faces 25 years behind bars. Up to 115 years was possible.

It is the culmination of a lengthy trial that has caused a stir. Judge Lewis Kaplan this afternoon in New York sentenced the founder of the insolvent exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, to 25 years in prison.

The verdict in the FTX trial is thus much milder than many observers had expected. The SBF legal team had recently called for an even milder sentence of less than seven years, although in the worst case, up to 115 years would have been possible.

The American Prosecutors had advised the judge that a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years to be imposed. According to the criminal protocol there was a "significant chance" that the FTX founder would commit fraud again if he got out of prison at a young age.

Since the demise of FTX, SBF has often been accused of media manipulation. Shortly after the demise of his crypto empire in the fall of 2022, he was probably already thinking of a spectacular comeback in the media.

Last November, a jury found the former crypto-poster boy guilty of seven charges. He was previously charged with conspiracy, fraud and money laundering.

"The damage was enormous. There is no remorse," the new FTX CEO Ray wrote in his lawsuit filing last Wednesday. "Effective altruism, at least as Sam Bankman-Fried lived it, was a lie."

However, it seems that life in prison has taken its toll on the FTX fraudster in recent months, as a fellow inmate recently described SBF in an interview as neglected and emaciated.

Today's verdict means the end, for now, of one of the largest criminal cases in crypto history. The damage done was enormous, as FTX customers alone reportedly lost more than US$8 billion.

SBF lawyers have already announced that they will appeal the verdict.