Written by Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sam Bankman Fried was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years in jail after being discovered responsible of fraud stemming from the dramatic collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency trade he based. .
Beneath is a timeline of occasions main as much as the 32-year-old former billionaire's sentencing.
2017
Bankman Freed, a Massachusetts Institute of Expertise graduate, left his job as a quantitative dealer at Jane Avenue Capital to start out Alameda Analysis, a buying and selling agency specializing in cryptocurrencies.
Might 2019
Bankman-Fried and former Google (NASDAQ:) worker Gary Wang found FTX as a brand new platform for buying and selling crypto tokens and derivatives.
October 2021
FTX has raised $420 million in enterprise funding, valuing the corporate at $25 billion. Bankman Fried first appeared on Forbes' listing of the richest folks, and his internet value is estimated at $22.5 billion. The journal estimates his internet value to be at $26 billion by the tip of the yr.
February 2022
The NFL Tremendous Bowl broadcast was closely populated with crypto adverts, demonstrating the extent of enthusiasm for the fast-growing asset class. FTX's “Don't Miss Out” spot options actor Larry David, whose skepticism in regards to the platform is portrayed as akin to early people questioning the significance of the wheel.
June-July 2022
Bankman Fried has emerged because the so-called “white knight” of the crypto sector as the costs of different digital belongings plummet. Alameda gave a $200 million line of credit score to crypto financier Voyager Digital, and FTX gave a $250 million mortgage to financier BlockFi.
November 2, 2022
Crypto information web site CoinDesk has printed a leaked Alameda Analysis stability sheet displaying that a lot of its $14.6 billion in belongings is held in FTX’s proprietary token known as FTT. The token has since shed round $400 million in market capitalization, and rival trade Binance introduced it might promote its FTT holdings.
November 11, 2022
FTX has filed for U.S. chapter safety after a sequence of buyer withdrawals, and Bankman Fried will step down as chief govt.
December 12, 2022
Bankman Freed was arrested within the Bahamas, the place FTX relies. The U.S. Legal professional's Workplace in Manhattan later confirmed {that a} federal grand jury had indicted him on fees of fraud and conspiracy.
December 21, 2022
Bankman Freed will depart the Bahamas after agreeing to extradition to the US. Throughout Wang's flight, prosecutors revealed that he and Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison had agreed to plead responsible and cooperate with prosecutors.
December 22, 2022
Bankman Fried made his first look in Manhattan federal courtroom and was launched on $250 million bail and positioned on residence detention at his dad and mom' residence in Palo Alto, California.
January March 12, 2023
Bankman Fried has pleaded not responsible, and U.S. District Decide Lewis Kaplan has scheduled a trial for October. In a weblog publish after his arrest, Bankman Fried denied any theft of funds and blamed FTX's collapse on a broader downturn within the cryptocurrency market.
August 11, 2023
Mr. Kaplan granted Mr. Ellison bail after discovering possible trigger to consider that Mr. Bankman-Fried had tampered with witnesses on not less than two events, together with sharing Mr. Ellison's non-public writings with a New York Occasions reporter. Canceled. Bankman Freed was remanded to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Heart pending trial.
October. March 2023
The trial begins in federal courtroom in Manhattan.
October. 28, 2023
Bankman Fried testified in his personal protection, saying that “lots of people have been harm” when FTX collapsed, however that he by no means defrauded anybody or stole billions of {dollars} from his clients. He claimed to not have executed so.
November 2, 2023
Bankman Freed was discovered responsible on all seven fees he confronted.
March 28, 2024
Kaplan sentenced Bankman Fried to 25 years in jail.
