Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years; Binance Faces Ban in Philippines; Worldcoin Halts in Portugal; Coinbase Beats Lawsuit
Summary:
Sam Bankman-Fried, associated with FTX and Alameda Research, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on multiple felony charges. Elsewhere, Binance faces a ban in the Philippines over unlicensed activities and Worldcoin suffers a temporary halt on data collection in Portugal. Meanwhile, Coinbase Wallet triumphs in a court case, portraying a win for self-custody wallets and decentralized finance applications.
United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, Lewis Kaplan, has handed down a substantial 25-year prison sentence to Sam Bankman-Fried, infamously known as "SBF", after finding him guilty on seven felony charges. This is a landmark case as SBF becomes the inaugural member from FTX and Alameda Research to face incarceration due to the exchange's downfall in November 2022. Mark Bini, previously an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, spoke to Cointelegraph and explained how Judge Kaplan evaluated several sentencing considerations, including the severity of SBF's crimes and his conduct during the trial before passing on the significant sentence. Although it fell short of the prosecution's desired 40-50 year sentence, Bini asserts that this verdict underscores the serious repercussions awaiting those involved in cryptocurrency-related crimes.
Four colluders involved in the same case as SBF, namely Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Ryan Salame, conceded guilt and agreed to plea deals. Salame, the one-time co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, did not testify in Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial and is most likely to be sentenced next on May 1. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts and observers immediately took to social media platforms in reaction to the sentencing announcement, with many speculating that 25 years was an insufficient term compared to penalties for less serious crimes.
In international news, Binance, the world's predominant cryptocurrency exchange, is set to be banned in the Philippines. The country's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with support from the National Telecommunication Commission, is moving to restrict local access to Binance’s online trading platform and website, due to concerns over the firm's unlicensed financial activities. The SEC charges Binance for trading leveraged investments and providing crypto savings accounts without the necessary permissions, thereby infringing the Securities Regulation Code. Commencing in the next three months, this prohibition will give investors an opportunity to withdraw their funds from Binance. The authorities have also called on Meta and Google to cease featuring Binance-related ads for Filipino consumers.
Meanwhile, in Portugal, the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) has put a halt to Worldcoin's biometric data compilation via its Orb apparatus. According to the CNPD, this action is aimed at safeguarding citizens' rights, particularly that of minors'. The block will persist until an ongoing investigation concludes. The regulator took this step in response to numerous complaints about unauthorized data collection from minors.
In the United States, a recent court ruling favoring Coinbase Wallet against allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been lauded by crypto lawyers. U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla upheld the SEC's suit against Coinbase's unlicensed status and unregistered securities but discarded claims of Coinbase having engaged in brokerage activities through Coinbase Wallet. This ruling is seen as a positive step for self-custody wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Published At
4/1/2024 10:10:00 PM
Disclaimer: Algoine does not endorse any content or product on this page. Readers should conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the asset, company, or any information in this article and assume full responsibility for their decisions. This article should not be considered as investment advice. Our news is prepared with AI support.
Do you suspect this content may be misleading, incomplete, or inappropriate in any way, requiring modification or removal?
We appreciate your report.