A number of altcoins bankrolled by recently convicted FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, appropriately dubbed “Sam coins,” have continued to rally this week ahead of his potential March trial. With FTT up 200%, altcoins such as serum, maps, and oxygen have also outshined this week, with the total crypto market capitalization at a 14-month high.
The Potential Reboot of FTT
FTT’s dramatic increase comes amidst inklings of a potential FTT reboot, with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision Chair Gary Gensler’s advising CEO of Bullish and FTX bidder, Tom Farley, on how to operate within the crypto industry.
“If Tom or anybody else wanted to be in this field, I would say do it within the law,” Gensler reportedly said. “Build the trust of investors in what you’re doing and ensure that you’re doing the proper disclosures – and also that you’re not commingling all these functions, trading against your customers,” Gensler continued. “Or using their crypto assets for your own purposes.”
The Implications of Bankman-Fried’s Legal Troubles
The surge in “Sam coins” comes just one week after Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven fraud charges in Manhattan federal court. The former “king of crypto,” who is currently being held in Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, faces a potential maximum sentence of 110 years in prison total.
However, Bankman-Fried’s problems extend long beyond his most recent federal fraud conviction. The Department of Justice must decide by February 1st whether or not they will proceed with another trial against Bankman-Fried for additional charges relating to his conduct at FTX and sister trading firm, Alameda Research.
In particular, Bankman-Fried is facing a foreign bribery charge that alleges he transferred $40 million “intended for the benefit of one or more Chinese government officials in order to influence and induce them.”
Prosecutors allege Bankman-Fried and a number of his associates attempted to unlock over $1 billion in frozen accounts on exchanges OKX and Huobi using a variety of methods. Former Alameda Research CEO, Caroline Ellison testified that Bankman-Fried used the identities of Thai sex workers in a bid to regain access to their accounts, which ultimately proved futile.
According to testimony from Ellison, a trader from Alameda Research attempted to dissuade Bankman-Fried when he made mention of bribing Chinese officials. Ellison then claimed Bankman-Fried yelled at the trader to “shut the f-ck up” before successfully gaining access to the accounts.
Bankman-Fried’s next trial is currently scheduled for March 11th, 2024, while his sentencing for his most recent conviction is set for March 28th, 2024.
