Former Crypto-Billionaire Sam Bankman Arrested

It was probably only a matter of time, but former CEO of crypto exchange FTX and former billionaire (now hundred-aire) Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was arrested in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government.

For those of you not watching this dumpster fire, crypto exchange FTX and its related companies leveraged the hell out of itself with risky crypto investments and when the bottom fell out of the crypto market (one Bitcoin was worth $50,000 in April and $17,000 today), that house of cards came crashing down.

The feds have not revealed the charges yet; expect a media circus tomorrow as they pat themselves on the back when they reveal the charges. Note that SBF has not been hiding and has been giving multiple interviews per day. He is supposed to testify to Congress tomorrow; perhaps he will do that from inside of a Bahamian jail cell while awaiting extradition. That would probably be a first.

The charges are expected to be prosecuted by the fed’s SDNY (the Southern District of New York), possibly the most tech savvy group of federal prosecutors, the center of focus of the hit TV series Billions and a very aggressive prosecutorial office.

But SDNY is not alone. Since FTX was based in the Bahamas, the Bahamian authorities are also investigating SBF and FTX.

In addition to SBF’s planned testimony to Congress tomorrow, FTX’s current CEO, John Ray, who navigated Enron’s bankruptcy and wind-down, is also supposed to testify.

Ray said that the condition of FTX makes Enron look like a model of control and conservativeness.

“Investors” should understand that investments like crypto are, for the most part, completely unregulated, rarely covered by insurance and not guaranteed by the U.S. government. In addition, crypto firms themselves are not regulated any more so than the corner bakery is.

If after all of this, you still want to invest, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I will sell to you for cheap.

Credit: MSN

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