Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison, FTX saga ends: Law cleared
Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried to a total of 25 years in prison on seven felony counts.
SBF is the first person to be associated with FTX and Alameda Research following the fall of the exchange in November 2022.
“Kaplan weighed all of the sentencing factors, including the seriousness of the crime, that SBF lied on the witness stand and tampered with witnesses, and received a severe sentence,” Mark Binney, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, told Cointelegraph.
“While 40-50 years is less than what prosecutors are asking for, it's a significant sentence and sends a message that people accused of crimes in the crypto space face serious consequences.”
Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh and Ryan Salameh — four other individuals connected to FTX and Alameda who were indicted on the same charges as SBF — pleaded guilty and accepted deals.
Salameh, the former CEO of FTX Digital Markets, was the only person not to testify at Bankman-Fried's criminal trial. He could be the next person to face sentencing on May 1.
Following the New York court announcement, crypto users jumped on social media to voice their opinions. 25 years is not enough time in prison for many, given longer sentences for seemingly serious crimes.
Philippines Blocks Binance
The Philippines' financial regulator has suspended users of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, citing concerns over the company's unlicensed presence in the country.
The country's Securities and Exchange Commission said it had obtained the help of the National Telecommunications Commission to block Binance's website and online trading platforms.
The Philippines' financial watchdog group, Binance, has revealed that it offers investment products, no-demand trading services and no-demand crypto savings accounts.
According to the SEC, the ban will allow investors to exit positions held through Binance within three months. The agency asked Google and Meta to block Binance-related ads from appearing on the platform to Filipino users.
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Worldcoin has been banned in Portugal for three months
Portugal's data regulator, the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD), has announced that it has decided to temporarily limit WorldCoin's collection of biometric data.
According to the CNPD, the decision was made to protect the rights of its citizens, especially minors. The measure will be effective immediately and until the investigation is completed.
The CNPD said these measures were taken after receiving “dozens of reports” on the collection of information on minors without proper consent from parents or legal authorities.
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Coinbase Wallet wins in court against the SEC
Crypto advocates have praised a recent US judge's decision to dismiss allegations against Coinbase Wallet, a victory for self-sustaining wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Failla rejected Coinbase's bid to dismiss the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit, saying the SEC “sufficiently pleaded” that Coinbase was unlicensed and that its crypto staking offering was unregistered securities.
The judge also ruled that the SEC had conducted Coinbase brokerage activity through Coinbase Wallet, a self-managed crypto wallet app that gives users full control over their assets.
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