Today’s it, guys. We all have lived long enough to first-hand witness Sam Bankman-Fried arrested after the FTX mayhem. I’m the first cheerleader in line for this decision. But, I can’t help but wonder why are they arresting him now? Just one day before having to testify in front of the US Congress? I smell something fishy. Let’s unpack what’s happening.
Why Was Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested?
Basically, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the crypto exchange FTX, caused the company’s collapse and lost billions of dollars. Most of the money was customer funds. Fried was accused of having built the entire company on a Ponzi scheme.
And, he was allegedly scheming in favor of the cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda. Yes, yikes. It didn’t stop there. The FTX collapse caused a total NFT market crash. The contagion affected literally everyone.
Solana’s value plunged, and Bored Ape’s floor price dropped under $100K for the first time since 2021. Justin Bieber’s $1.3M Bored Ape is now worth $69k only. Moreover, this crash caused Cryptopunks’ floor price to surpass BAYC’s for the first time in a while.
The market collapse even affected the festival giant Coachella. $1.5 million worth of Coachella lifetime passes NFTs were locked and inaccessible due to the FTX fallout. And, his take on all of this was to go on Twitter and interviews and apologize and try to gain people’s sympathy.
So, it only makes sense for someone, anyone, to arrest Sam Bankman-Fried.
Who Arrested Fried?
We know why they did it. But, who are they? The Southern District of New York (SDNW) sent a sealed indictment to the Bahamian government which led to Fried’s arrest.
USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022
Moreover, Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder issued a statement saying:
“As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek SBF’s arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act,”
“At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.”
He also tweeted “You’re welcome guys”. Thank you for your service, sir. We love him but do we actually?
Is Sam Bankman-Fried The Only One Getting Arrested?
The thing is, Fried might have shit the bed the most but he isn’t the only one. The whole thing is definitely not a one-man job. In a statement, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis noted that the government’s plan is to hold accountable everyone who had a part in this mess.
He said “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law. While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually,
The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.”
Is That All There Is To It?
Is Sam Bankman-Fried arrest a good thing for us, or for him? Well. Fried was supposed to testify before the US congress tomorrow. And, chances are they were gonna grill him alive. Well, they can’t do that anymore because he’s behind bars.
Let me explain. If you get arrested and charged with a crime, no one can force you to testify in your own case. It is your right to remain silent and this is what most people do. So, this just made everyone’s job harder because they have to prove SBF guilty without being able to question him.
That is, if they charge him with the crime. Until now, we don’t know the content of the indictment. They might end up releasing him and not charging him with anything. But, most probably they’re gonna have to postpone his hearing.
Bankman-Fried was set to testify before the House tomorrow. Tonight he was arrested.
While I am disappointed we will not have the opportunity to present our line of questioning, we look forward to more information coming to light and justice being served in this case. https://t.co/HS9u1n5Kur
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 13, 2022
Conclusion
Well, Sam Bankman-Fried arrest is not the end of the FTX drama. Nor the beginning of holding him accountable. It is just more shady shit happening in this crypto space. In general, NFT legal issues are chaotic and not clear. Read all about it here. For now, I’ll leave you with this “alleged” meme.
