Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentence is a warning to crypto

The sentencing of cryptocurrency wunderkind-turned-convicted-fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried to

25 years in jail,

along with the forfeiture of more than US$11 billion (S$14.8 billion), looks like a fair outcome. While not as harsh as the request from prosecutors for as many as 50 years, it should stand as a clear deterrent for aspiring fraudsters both in traditional finance and its decentralised offshoots. And given crypto is still in the midst of a much-needed clean-up, that matters.

To recap, the 32-year-old Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and several other offences in 2023 after the

spectacular collapse of his crypto exchange FTX

revealed a US$8 billion hole of missing customer funds under his watch. The jury was not swayed by the one-time billionaire’s defence that he had fallen victim to a market downturn, largely because the evidence was so overwhelming and his defence so contradictory. His former lieutenants’ testimony was as damning as his own lack of remorse and history of statements like: “F**k regulators”.