A longtime battle between cryptocurrency titans was brought to a close in federal court this past week when Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was handed a sentence of four months in prison.
It seemed an underwhelming and somewhat anti-climactic finish to a protracted battle between Zhao and Bankman-Fried, two men who were legendary adversaries, as well as key stewards of the $2.2 trillion crypto sector. "The nature of their alleged crimes reflects different aspects of the 'dark' and illicit corners of crypto: CZ's case seems to focus on regulatory and compliance failures, while SBF's case hinges on direct financial misconduct and deception," Perry said.
The 32-year-old toy, which has lost much of its shape and identifying features, sat on the bed of his sparsely decorated room in his parents' house on Stanford University's campus in his final days before incarceration.
Bankman-Fried never married, has no children, and according to Lewis, moved himself and his company headquarters to the opposite side of the planet, twice, partly to avoid committing to his ex-girlfriend, ex-colleague, and thein just a few hours despite it being a complicated month-long trial involving hundreds of exhibits and nearly 20 witnesses — was largely built upon the testimony of the people who knew Bankman-Fried best.
But perhaps the greatest distinction between the two relates to the command they held over those around them. "Part of CZ's deliberations in settling with Justice in November may have been precisely to make this point – that his conduct stands profoundly in contrast to the brazen behavior of SBF," Yadav added.In Seattle, Zhao's sentencing was a relatively quiet affair, with a vibe that was more muted than the circus surrounding Bankman-Fried's time in court.
Bankman-Fried and other leaders at FTX took billions of dollars in customer money.
Los Angeles corporate law attorney Tre Lovell said that, unlike Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud, Zhao hasn't been charged with fraud or other crimes deserving of a longer sentence. Unlike SBF, CZ didn't have his wealth wiped out by bankruptcy of the crypto company he founded. And as he cooperated with the government and pleaded guilty, his assets weren't seized.