Top winners and losers of 2023
In the year 2023 has seen prominent figures in the crypto-cryptosphere enter in various ways, contributing to the ecosystem's many ups and downs.
Some have achieved remarkable success while others have seen their empires collapse – despite great hopes.
Here are some of the top crypto winners and top losers of 2023.
Winners
In a climate of equal parts uncertainty and opportunity, several crypto entrepreneurs have proven themselves to be resilient pioneers, laying the groundwork for 2024's 2023 narrative.
Brad Garlinghouse
Ripple may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the company's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has endeared himself to the broader crypto community this year with legal victories at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Had to take a photo in front of the @SECGov building while in town. (In case you're wondering…no, Chairman Gensler didn't invite us) pic.twitter.com/qfbfU7PrGQ
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) September 19, 2023
In July, Ripple won an important decision against the regulatory body when the XRP (XRP) token was found not to violate securities laws. However, the matter did not end there. The SEC continues to pursue Ripple in fines of more than $770 million that the company owes.
For now, Garlinghouse looks good, but the battle continues.
Yoga Labs
Yuga Labs was another company that won big in court this year. In April, a judge sided with Yuga Labs in its long-running feud with Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, finding that Yuga Labs' Bored Up Yacht Club's Invincible Tokens (NFTs) were racist and anti-Semitic — and then overturned them. To transfer NFTs as per their duties.
The court ordered Ripps and Kahan to pay $1.57 million in damages and legal fees to Yoga Labs for their alleged wheeling and dealing behavior.
The exact amount of those legal fees has not yet been disclosed, but Yuga Labs is seeking $7.9 million.
Real Bedford FC
It's been a good year for Real Bedford, who won the UK South Midlands League in April. Bitcoin (BTC) podcaster Peter McCormack aims to take his football club to the Premier League.
Some photos from our last home game of the season where we were crowned league champions.
We had a record attendance of 327, which is up from 50-80 last season. Thank you to everyone who came and supported us. pic.twitter.com/u19kcpO3WM
— Peter McCormack☠️ (@PeterMcCormack) April 16, 2023
Such lofty goals may be some distance away, but promoting the club this year is one small step. Real Bedford offers Bitcoin on orange tiles and has several crypto sponsors including Compass Mining and Gemini.
Crypto lawyers
Between bankruptcy, fraud cases, copyright infringement and other things, a group of individuals made good profits at every level. In January 2023, law firm Sullivan & Cromwell had 150 people on the FTX case alone, including 30 partners charging over $2,000 an hour. If you want to know what it's like to win big, check out crypto lawyers.
Losers
Some of the most trusted and well-loved crypto entrepreneurs have faced legal trouble for a variety of charges, ranging from misappropriating investors' funds to enabling cross-border channels for money laundering.
Changpeng Zhao
Has Changpeng “CZ” Zhao won or lost in 2023? It's a matter of perspective. On the one hand, the United States Department of Justice has forced the head of Binance to resign and personally pay a $50 million fine after pleading guilty to failing to adequately prevent money laundering.
Latest: India takes steps to block Binance, Huobi, other global crypto exchange URLs.
In addition, Binance had to pay a $4.3 billion fine, the largest settlement in Treasury history. For all these reasons, the 2023 CZ looks like a big miss.
Today I step down as the CEO of Binance. It wasn't easy to let go emotionally. But I know it's the right thing to do. I made a mistake, and I have to take responsibility. This is great for the community, Binance and myself.
Binance is no longer a baby. is it…
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) November 21, 2023
On the other hand, there is a point where CZ can be jailed for the crimes he is accused of. If that is indeed the case, CZ can count himself a lucky man. With enough money, time and resources on his side, CZ can still turn things around once.
Maybe not enough to be called a win this year, but this is probably an acceptable loss.
Jesse Powell
In further regulatory shenanigans, Jesse Powell's Kraken settled with the SEC in February. The US-based crypto exchange paid $30 million, leading Kraken's co-founder to falsely believe regulatory concerns were behind him.
The SEC then filed another complaint against Kraken in November, alleging that the firm operated as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing house. That's what Powell wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “The message is clear: $30 million buys you 10 months before the SEC comes to extort you again.”
The message is clear: $30m will buy you 10 months before the SEC comes to exploit it again. Lawyers can do a lot with $30 million, but the SEC knows that a real fight costs $100m+ and significant time. If you can't afford it, get your crypto company out of the US warzone.
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) November 21, 2023
While Powell's righteous indignation is palpable, there's no doubt that paying the fine now won't deter the SEC from taking further action.
Do your homework
Joining this year's list of losers is Terraform Labs founder Do Kuhn, who was arrested in Montenegro in March and convicted of fabricating official documents in June. Montenegro's justice system sentenced Kwon to four months in prison for the crime, though that was by no means the end of his troubles.
The US and South Korea are trying to hand over billions of dollars worth of Kwon through the Terra ecosystem and the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin.
Sam Bankman-Fried
In November, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of defrauding FTX customers. Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he is commonly known, now faces up to 110 years in prison. (Some analysts believe it only works around 20 to 30.)
SBF's conviction marks one of the most profound falls from grace in crypto history. The exchange's investor wealth was once measured at $16 billion. Today, it's close to $0.
1) What
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 14, 2022
There is no doubt that SBF will be the biggest loser of crypto in 2023. As for sentencing, that won't happen until March 2024.
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