#Twitter binance ceo trial#

Industry backers are playing up the potential uses of blockchain technology that underpins crypto trading. When the rate of inflation rose, Bitcoin's value plummeted. The company funneled billions of dollars from customers without their knowledge.Īnd despite what Bitcoin's boosters claimed, that the cryptocurrency would be a hedge against high inflation, that hasn't proven to be the case. 'I do think it's an interesting technology that may have very useful applications, but there are a lot of things that don't really have that much utility.'īecause their prices are so volatile, cryptocurrencies aren't useful as mediums of exchange, and the fraud at FTX only heightened fears about the safety of digital assets. 'I don't think the use case for a lot of what's been developed in this sector has really been proven,' says Massad, who now runs the Digital Assets Policy Project at Harvard University. By design, the crypto economy is supposed to be borderless, built to operate outside the boundaries of traditional finance.Īccording to Timothy Massad, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the collapse of FTX did lessen some of the wild speculative bets that characterized the crypto market during the company's heyday.īut he isn't completely convinced by what he's seen so far. Though crypto proponents like to tout their industry as the future of finance, many are dubious. Even a virtual currency Bankman-Fried created out of whole cloth, called the FTX Token, or FTT, has gained ground.īitcoin is now trading around $36,000, which is about half its all-time high, but more than twice as high as it was at the beginning of the year.īut other financial industry experts remain wary crypto can make a comeback. In recent weeks, the price of Bitcoin has started to climb again. There are signs that strategy is working. 'I think there are a lot of people who are really, really happy and delighted he has been convicted,' says Yadav, adding the verdict is a way for them to 'showcase to customers that bad actors have been removed.' 2, the industry began to argue that crypto post-SBF is safe, that it isn't 'tainted by all this kind of fraud and misappropriation.' Yadav says that as soon as the jury announced its verdict on Nov.

'Sam's crimes had nothing to do with the technology underpinning blockchain networks and digital assets. 'The industry moved on from SBF long before the verdict was read,' says Kristin Smith, the CEO of a crypto trade group called the Blockchain Association. Key players acknowledge the seriousness of the fraud he committed, and the charges against him, but they argue they were the actions of an individual bad actor. Here are where things stand in crypto on the anniversary of FTX's collapse.ĭespite skepticism in large parts of the financial sector, the crypto industry is trying hard to isolate itself from Bankman-Fried's troubles. 'I think the FTX debacle tainted and diminished the cryptocurrency industry.'įTX's implosion and Bankman-Fried's subsequent downfall deepened a market downturn that is referred to as a 'crypto winter.' One year later, they are still having a chilling effect, but there is optimism among crypto businesses and boosters that there could be a thaw soon.

'It's very hard for the industry to really disassociate itself completely from FTX,' says Yesha Yadav, an expert on digital assets at Vanderbilt Law School. But regulators and many retail investors remain deeply skeptical. Today, the industry wants to rekindle interest in cryptocurrencies. 11, 2022.īankman-Fried and FTX introduced millions of people all over the world to Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies, and his company spent a lot of money - on sponsorships, endorsement deals and a Super Bowl ad - to make FTX a household name, and to promote crypto more broadly. FTX filed for bankruptcy exactly one year ago, on Nov.

But that isn't going to be easy.Įarlier this month, a New York City jury found the disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of seven criminal counts, including money laundering and securities fraud.Īs the co-founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled to take place in March, Bankman-Fried still casts a long shadow on the industry he helped make.

#Twitter binance ceo trial#

The highest-profile cryptocurrency trial is over, and the crypto industry is eager to move on.