You are the first person I have seen defending Sam Bankman-Fried, and I am an avid appreciator of people with opposing views. Thank you for writing this because I think all sides of an argument should be heard (one of the many reasons I love Hive).
I do have a hard time reconciling with the fact that SBF should not be in prison. If this were a traditional financial institution that wasn't associated with cryptocurrency, it would be like Madoff. You wouldn't find a sympathetic ear arguing for no jail time.
I do feel like there is a tendency to push back against any form of government intervention, like in the FTX situation, because it's crypto and many people in crypto believe it should be free from government intervention, including traditional forms of law enforcement.
I believe crypto has had a long time to get its house in order and every bull run seems to create a bunch of new projects and exchanges, people looking for gold, and when times get tough, the weeds are plucked out of the ground.
If SBF doesn't deserve jail time, I am curious about what you think should happen to him. Should he be allowed to keep the property he purchased and other assets while people who trusted FTX to be a responsible custodian of funds will never see that money again? We have seen too many platforms fail and Ponzi schemes and collapses.
None of this helps crypto adoption, every failure sets us back, and maybe we need stronger regulations because arrogant children run most of these exchanges and DeFi projects. I believe the crypto community shoulders the blame for any future regulation because these things keep being allowed to grow without any oversight or accountability, and people always seem surprised when they fail.
Did you see the news recently that a change was made to the exchange software powering FTX to allow Alameda access to an unlimited line of credit, even if they didn't have the collateral? This was the thing that allowed the indictment to be brought against SBF. It looks like SBF won't be the only person going to jail.
From my perspective, SBF is only a patsy of his own doing. He wasn't framed. Nobody forced him to create a bunch of companies and, through fraudulent actions, move money around like it was endless. He isn't been scapegoated because of some anti-crypto agenda. He committed fraud. And we know here is evidence, because when they got Madoff and others in similar situations, it took them a lot longer.
When FTX failed, in hindsight, the writing was on the wall. SBF was known for playing video games during his pitch meetings and media appearances. His Dealbook interview recently was the first time I saw him not playing video games.
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