Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years: FTX Saga Concludes

Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the first person tied to FTX and Alameda Research to face prison time since the collapse of the exchange in November 2022, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Judge Lewis Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York handed down the sentence after Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven felony charges. The judge considered factors such as the scale of the crime, SBF’s alleged lies on the witness stand, and witness tampering in determining the serious sentence. This decision is seen as a warning that those convicted of crimes in the crypto space will face severe consequences.

Four other individuals associated with FTX and Alameda who were charged in the same case as SBF have already pleaded guilty and accepted deals. Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, will likely be the next to be sentenced on May 1. Following the announcement of Bankman-Fried’s sentence, social media was inundated with crypto users expressing their opinions, with many believing that 25 years in prison was not enough for his crimes compared to sentences for less severe offenses.

The financial regulator of the Philippines has decided to block access to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for local users. The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cited concerns over Binance’s unlicensed operations in the country as the reason for the ban. The SEC claims that Binance offers investment products, such as leveraged trading services and crypto savings accounts, without the required licenses, which is a violation of the Securities Regulation Code. The ban is set to take effect within three months to allow investors to exit their positions, and the SEC has also asked Google and Meta to block Binance-related advertising for Filipino users.

Portugal’s data regulator, the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD), has announced a temporary limitation on Worldcoin’s biometric data collection through its Orb devices within the country. The CNPD is taking this measure to protect the rights of its citizens, particularly minors. The decision comes after the CNPD received numerous reports of data collection from minors without proper authorization from parents or legal authorities. The restriction will be in place until the conclusion of an investigation.

Crypto lawyers are praising a recent decision by a US judge to dismiss allegations against Coinbase Wallet, as it is seen as a victory for self-custody wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. US District Judge Katherine Failla denied Coinbase’s request to dismiss a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ruling that the SEC had adequately alleged that Coinbase was unlicensed and its crypto staking offering constituted unregistered securities. The judge also found that the SEC had failed to allege that Coinbase conducted brokerage activity through Coinbase Wallet, which allows users full control of their assets.