Benzinga - by Mehab Qureshi, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The value of a cryptocurrency that shares its name with the popular crypto exchange FTX, but is completely unrelated to it, skyrocketed by 510% within the last 24 hours.
What Happened: The surge in price closely followed the conclusion of a five-week trial in which FTX founder and former chief executive, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty of defrauding his customers and lenders.
During the trial, a New York jury delivered a guilty verdict on all seven charges, setting a tentative sentencing date for March 28, 2024. The potential consequences for Bankman-Fried are severe, as he could face several decades in prison, with a theoretical maximum sentence of up to 115 years.
After the announcement of the guilty verdicts, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the magnitude of Bankman-Fried’s actions, stating, “Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history. This kind of fraud, this kind of corruption is as old as time. We have no patience for it.”
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Why It Matters: Coinciding with this news, the crypto token known as HairyPlotterFTX (FTX) experienced a significant surge in price. Trading volume close to $2 million was reported on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, according to data from Dextools.
Meanwhile, FTX’s actual native token FTT (CRYPTO: FTT) is down 1.20% in the last 24 hours, trading at $1.20, at the time of writing.
Bankman-Fried, aged 31, was arrested in December 2022 and faced accusations of defrauding FTX investors and customers, as well as lenders associated with Alameda Research.
Throughout the trial, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all charges. Prosecutors sought to portray him as a deliberate perpetrator who schemed to misappropriate approximately $8 billion from his customers, using the funds for various purposes including real estate acquisitions, sports sponsorships, and venture investments.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading at $34,617.55, down 2.61% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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