Crypto Community Reacts to DOJ’s Decision on Sam Bankman-Fried Trial

The cryptocurrency community has demonstrated in response to the United States Department of Justice’s decision not to seek a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried.

The prosecution submitted a letter on December 29 stating that a “prompt resolution of this matter” was necessary due to the significant public interest in the case. As a result of this decision, Bankman-Fried will not be subject to any further charges related to the conspiracy to make illegal contributions to political campaigns.

“Saying much more evidence that would be offered in a second trial was already offered in the first trial and can be considered by the Court at the defendant’s March 2024 sentencing,” according to the paperwork. On the other hand, the strategy has received a great deal of criticism from enthusiastic crypto aficionados.

“The public interest in a public airing of charges almost always matters. Campaign finance charges are at the very top of this list. What politicians and others knew what and when are critical questions that deserve answers.

Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, referred to the statement as a “miscarriage of justice,” pointing out that for the following reasons. Simon Dixon, co-founder of the online investment portal BnkToTheFuture.com, also states that the judgment prevents lawmakers in the United States from facing additional scrutiny regarding campaign contributions and clawbacks during the 2024 election season.

Ahead of the midterm elections in 2022, Bankman-Fried admitted that he was a “significant donor” to both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Court documents indicate that he gave more than one hundred million dollars to political candidates. During his trial in October, he stated that Alameda Research, FTX’s sister firm, provided loans for the donations made in his name, as part of his efforts to influence the regulation of cryptocurrencies by the United States government.

Bankman-Fried had estimated that he would have made one billion dollars in political donations by the year 2024, before the collapse of FTX in November of each year. The claims that Bankman-Fried participated in a plan to bribe Chinese authorities, in addition to the controversy surrounding his political donations, have been exonerated.

The prosecution has stated that a second trial would not impact the range of the United States Sentencing Guidelines for him. During his criminal trial, a jury decided that Bankman-Fried was guilty of all seven counts of fraud.

These counts included wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, commodities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. If found guilty and sentenced on March 28, 2024, he could face up to 115 years in jail.