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The Fallen Crypto Guru

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Published in Die Presse
(Austria) on 18 March 2024
by Beate Lammer (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Kirsty Low. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
In August 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried's face was emblazoned on the cover of Fortune magazine, which celebrated the 32-year-old as the "next Warren Buffett."

The tech billionaire from California, known as "SBF," founded the FTX crypto exchange and gained attention with his charitable outreach and philanthropy. He was regarded as a good crypto entrepreneur, unlike his colleagues in the industry, who were accused of merely being out to make a quick buck. Today, the media sometimes refer to SBF as a "Bitcoin guru." But that's nonsense, as SBF didn't like Bitcoin. He told the Financial Times it had "no future as a payments network because of its inefficiency and high environmental costs." SBF showed minimal interest in the decentralized cryptocurrency. He preferred to create something of his own and believed he could do it all better than others.

In the end, he speculated away billions in customer funds. FTX went bust, and the whole crypto sector was dragged down with it. SBF has since been convicted of fraud and money laundering, and prosecutors are now seeking a 50-year prison sentence. Bitcoin is still around. Its price recently reached a record high.


Gefallener Krypto-Guru

Im August 2022 prangte das Gesicht von Sam Bankman-Fried auf der Titelseite des „Fortune“-Magazins, das den heute 32-Jährigen als den „nächsten Warren Buffett“ feierte.

Der unter dem saloppen Kürzel „SBF“ bekannte Tech-Milliardär aus Kalifornien hatte die Kryptobörse FTX gegründet und machte mit Wohltätigkeit und Philanthropie auf sich aufmerksam. Er galt als guter Krypto-Unternehmer im Gegensatz zu Branchenkollegen, denen man unterstellte, nur auf das schnelle Geld aus zu sein. Medien bezeichnen SBF heute mitunter als „Bitcoin-Guru“. Das ist aber Unsinn, SBF mochte Bitcoin nicht: Dieses hätte „keine Zukunft als Zahlungssystem wegen seiner Ineffizienz und seiner hohen Umweltkosten“, sagte er zur „Financial Times“. SBF konnte mit der dezentralen Kryptowährung wenig anfangen. Er wollte lieber selbst gestalten, dachte, alles besser zu können als andere.

Am Ende hatte er Milliarden an Kundengeldern verspekuliert. FTX ging krachend pleite, und der ganze Kryptosektor wurde mit nach unten gerissen. Inzwischen wurde SBF wegen Betrugs und Geldwäsche schuldig gesprochen, die Staatsanwaltschaft fordert nun 50 Jahre Haft. Bitcoin gibt es noch. Sein Preis hat kürzlich ein Rekordhoch erreicht.
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