'Not nearly long enough': World reacts to SBF's 25-year prison sentence

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years in prison for his role in the FTX fraud case. He has also been ordered to forfeit $11 billion, meaning he is on the hook for any unrecovered funds in the bankruptcy process.

Yet, among the crypto community, there was widespread sentiment that the sentence was on the low end. 

Dan Held, a general partner at Asymmetric, said the judgment was “Not nearly long enough given his actions, feelings around his actions, and actual damage caused.”

The collapse of FTX resulted in a roughly $8 billion hole. The estate is trying to recover as much of these funds as possible, including through the sale of locked solana. It is anticipating a 100% recovery in dollar terms — although this still leaves many creditors with significant losses in crypto terms.

Comparisons to other high-profile cases

Variant Fund Chief Legal Officer Jake Chervinsky pointed out that Bankman-Fried’s sentence was much lower than Ross Ulbricht, who got two life sentences plus forty years for his role in orchestrating the Silk Road. “This is not justice,” he posted on X. 

Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, added, “I just feel tremendous pain and sympathy for Ross Ulbricht.”

Whistleblower Edward Snowden was surprised that Bankman-Fried got a lower sentence than fellow whistleblower Chelsea Manning. “holy shit he gave him less than Chelsea Manning (35 years) for a waaaaay worse crime,” he said.

Others compared the sentencing to the current trial of Alexey Pertsev, who is facing a 5-year sentence regarding his involvement with Tornado Cash. “Doesn’t it drive you mad SBF defrauds the whole world and gets 25 (will probs get out early) Pertsev on trial for writing a smart contract and is treated the same way or worse,” said Seraphim Czecker, head of growth at Ethena Labs.

The crypto market moves on

Bankman-Fried's sentencing may be the end of this chapter for the crypto industry, said multiple pundits.

"We are focused on the crypto market, and this trial is the conclusion of a sorry episode that the market has moved on from. Enron was not a demonstration that all energy markets were fraudulent, nor was Madoff an indicator of all hedge funds. We believe in the crypto market’s robustness and support the prosecution of bad actors," said Michael Silberberg, head of investor relations at Alt Tab Capital.

Crypto exchange Kraken added that the industry needs to learn its lessons as it moves forward.

"Sam Bankman-Fried founded his empire on false promises and stolen client funds. SBF now faces consequences, but this does not undo the immense harm he has caused to millions of people and the crypto industry," said a spokesperson for the exchange. "Good crypto actors must set the tone by improving education, calling out bad actors, and adhering to crypto’s founding principles of personal ownership and public verifiability."

Crypto influencer Sisyphus, however, observed, “SBF’s sentencing time is ‘short’ but still meaningfully longer than the amount of time the crypto industry has existed for.”