Sam Bankman-Fried will appeal his 25-year sentence – live

In a piece for Guardian Opinion, Molly White, author of the newsletter Web3 Is Going Great, argues, “Since Bankman-Fried’s conviction, there have been no changes that would prevent a new crypto mania just as devastating as the last.

“With no changes to how the industry operates and no watchdogs to check the abuse and greed that have defined it over its now-15 years of existence, we are doomed to see history repeat itself,” she writes.

Yesha Yadav, professor and Associate Dean at Vanderbilt law school, agreed. She said, “Some of the loudest voices pushing for a very long sentence have been in the crypto industry. There is a desire to move on and close the chapter on SBF and the era he represents. But it will take a lot more work. As shown by this trial, his shadow is going to cast a very long legacy over the industry. The trial coverage has been extremely public. His fall from grace could not have been more sharp. Without a real systematic effort to engage in regulatory reform, and to institutionalize high standards, there may be challenges for the industry to shrug off the SBF legacy (and that of others like Binance’s Changpeng Zhao) and move into a more mainstream and widely trusted ecosystem.”

Read more from White’s essay:

Carl Tobias, chair of the University of Richmond Law School, said, “Judge Kaplan’s imposition of punishment was careful and appropriate, as you would expect from a highly experienced Southern District of NY jurist. The 25-year sentence was closer to what the government recommended than what defense counsel suggested. That sentence and the requirement that SBF repay $11 billion should deter SBF and many others who might be inclined to engage in behavior similar to SBF’s that they will be swiftly prosecuted and severely punished, should they choose to do so.”

Gia Weisdorn, professor of practice in business law for Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, said, “This sentence fell somewhere between the various sentencing recommendations. While SBF faced up to 110 years in prison, prosecutors, the federal probation department, and the defense differed markedly on their proposed length of his sentence, with prosecutors recommending 40-50 years, the probation department recommending 100 years, and SBF’s defense requested a maximum of 6.5 years citing mitigating factors.”

Yesha Yadav, professor and Associate Dean at Vanderbilt law school, said, “The sentence today is very much line with expectations – it is clearly designed to deter, underscore the severity of the crimes, while perhaps also being mindful of SBF’s youth and the chance for some rehabilitation going forward. The judge did not buy what SBF was selling today – the apologies came too late to convince the judge who no doubt remembered the highly evasive and self-righteous courtroom behavior at trial and the lack of remorse most of all. The judge seemed to believe that SBF would do this again were he given the chance. 25 years makes sure that there is no chance for him to try his hand at finance during his most productive working years.”

Yadav concurred with the judge’s assessment of Bankman-Fried’s contention that there would, ultimately, be no harm to FTX customers.

“I was stunned by the tone of the defense’s submissions arguing that no harm had come to the public because the bankruptcy would deliver recoveries. First, that is not entirely true. A lot of people will not get the benefit of the upswing. Secondly, it came across as extremely callous in ignoring the emotional harm and financial pain felt by customers over the last two years. Many companies are now gone following the FTX collapse, investors and lenders have lost around $4 billion. So, I am not surprised that the judge put a great deal of weight on the speciousness of this argument and the need to deter others from this kind of criminal and careless behavior.”

Sam Bankman-Fried faced a maximum sentence of 110 years. Prosecutors asked for 40 to 50. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked for six. He got 25.

In advance of Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing Thursday, federal prosecutors requested that the ex-mogul, age 32, be sentenced to four or five decades in prison. They argued that the risk of him committing fraud again was too great to allow him lenience.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked for a light sentence, saying that he was a first-time, nonviolent offender. They also argued that FTX’s customers would be paid back in full. The judge roundly rejected the second argument, pointing out that FTX’s customers lost $8bn. FTX’s current CEO has made the same assessment as the judge in court filings.

On Thursday, judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25-years in prison.

Before reading the sentencing, Judge Kaplan stated that “this was a very serious crime” and chastised Bankman-Fried for “evasive, hairsplitting” testimony during the trial.

“Never seen a performance quite like that,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried’s persistence and marketing abilities meant that it was “not a trivial risk” he would commit wrongdoing again in the future.

He said that, though Bankman-Fried said the word “sorry”, Bankman-Fried “never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes”.

Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for masterminding the $8bn fraud that led to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. He was found guilty on seven charges of wire fraud and conspiracy in November 2023.

Bankman-Fried told the court Thursday morning, “I am sorry”. Previously, Bankman-Fried had expressed little contrition for his role in what happened at FTX. He maintained throughout his trial that he had not committed fraud. On Thursday, however, he said he made “a series of bad decisions” that “haunts me every day”.

“A lot of people feel really let down, and they were very let down, and I am sorry about that. I am sorry about what happened at every stage,” he said. “My useful life is probably over”.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said at the start of the hearing that Sam Bankman-Fried had committed crimes during and after his trial in addition to the wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money the 32-year-old was convicted of.

Kaplan said Bankman-Fried communicated with FTX’s former general counsel before the ex-CEO was remanded into custody. Bankman-Fried’s bail was revoked before his trial after the diary of his ex-girlfriend, Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, leaked to The New York Times. Bankman-Fried also committed perjury while testifying, Kaplan said, when Bankman-Fried said that he had not known that Alameda Research, a hedge fund closely tied to FTX, was spending FTX customer deposits for its own ends.