Sometime in between FTXcollapse and Sam Bankman FriedAfter he was convicted of fraud a year later, a consensus was reached about the boy genius of cryptocurrencies: His frizzy hair and office chair naps were largely for show, but his company FTX, which millions of people used to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, was the real deal. Cryptocurrency believers see FTX as a near-successful story — if its owner hadn't taken client money to cover side gambles. As the author Michael Lewis Put it on 60 minutes“They actually had a great, real job.”
This idea was reinforced by a development in FTX's bankruptcy: When the company collapsed, $8 billion in client money disappeared, but the lawyers running it now say they expect to recover enough money to repay everyone in full. Bankman Fried's allies have used this to suggest that clients' money wasn't stolen so much as redirected into a few surprisingly good investments. “Whatever may be said about Bankman-Fried, he was a brilliant businessman,” law professors Ian Ayres and John Donohue wrote in a recent article, saying he was wrong even when he declared bankruptcy. His lawyers used this argument to ask for a lighter sentence; On March 28, a federal judge will decide whether to go easy on him or send him to prison for 40 years or more, as prosecutors are seeking.
