'Normalized corruption': RFK Jr. says Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly donating $100M of stolen funds to politicians, having charges dropped is worse than fraud itself. 3 legit ways to own crypto
The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has led to significant losses for crypto investors. In November, its disgraced former CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on all seven criminal counts he faced. He is set to be sentenced in March, but not everyone is happy about how things have been handled.
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Federal prosecutors also accused SBF, as he is often called, of donating customer deposits to politicians. However, they have decided against pursuing a second trial on additional charges, including making unlawful campaign contributions. They explained that much of the evidence has already been submitted to the Court during the first trial and also cited "strong public interest in a prompt resolution of this matter."
This decision sparked widespread discussion on social media.
“Sam Bankman-Fried donated $100 million in stolen customer funds to US politicians,” crypto news outlet Watcher Guru wrote in a recent post on X. “Today, the US Government announced they're dropping six charges against SBF and will not prosecute him for a political campaign finance violation.”
The post, featuring a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to Judge Lewis Kaplan about not proceeding with a second trial, has received 9.7 million views. It also caught the attention of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“No one is even surprised,” Kennedy said in response. “THAT is a bigger problem than the fraud itself. It shows how normalized corruption has become.”
Despite the FTX fiasco, the high-return potential of cryptocurrencies continues to attract investors. For instance, Bitcoin, the world's most prominent cryptocurrency, skyrocketed 154% in 2023.
The good news? You don’t have to entrust your funds to individuals like SBF to participate in this market. Here’s a look at three ways to gain exposure to crypto more safely.
Buy and store securely
These days many platforms allow individual investors to buy and sell crypto. However, a quick glance at the California government's Crypto Scam Tracker will show you there are many fraudulent websites built for scams. Always make sure you're using a reputable exchange platform to buy any virtual currency. Some exchanges charge up to 4% commission fees for each transaction, so look for apps that charge low or even no commissions.