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ONE-TIME CRYPTOCURRENCY golden boy and FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, accused of stealing billions of dollars of his customers’ money, has been found guilty on all counts.
He conquered the crypto world at breakneck speed, turning FTX, a small start-up he co-founded in 2019, into the world’s second-largest exchange platform.
But in November 2022, the FTX empire imploded, unable to cope with massive withdrawal requests from customers panicked to learn that some of the funds stored at the company had been committed to risky operations at Bankman-Fried’s personal hedge fund, Alameda Research.
It’s a trial that has shook the crypto world, so today we want to know: Have you ever bought cryptocurrency?
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Bought 2 grand’s worth of Bitcoin in 2012.
Traded it in in 2016 for 40 grand.
No skill, pure luck.
@Tommy Haze: Wow, shame you didn’t hold on. Could have been a mulit millionaire
@Tommy Haze: lol BTC didn’t jump like that between those years, gullible bagholder got stung by the ponzi that is crypto
@Tommy Haze: that left you with a hefty CGT liability. But it’s nice to make some money.
@Tommy Haze: it’s a sad little fantasy world you live in.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: I had some barnet back in the 80s. I thought I was a mullet millionaire.
@: sounds plausible to me. 1BTC was roughly $13.50 in December 2012, 1BTC in December 2016 was roughly $950
Why would you say that, you clearly know nothing about bitcoin and clearly cannot do research.
I will be buying several thousands when I get that money from the Nigerian prince who texted me.
Yes. Years ago. Lost it on a hard drive.
But cmere. This is a nonsense right wing pyramid scheme. It has no intrinsic value and is a huge drain on our collective resources.
@Chris O’Brien: The euro has no intrinsic value. It’s not even money, it is currency.
@: of course this isn’t true. The Euro is backed by both national central banks and the ECB.
Bitcoin is backed by… Fantasies
And, if course, if my bank collapses my money is protected by my government and the ECB. To a degree at least.eaning it has real tangible value outside of me being able to keep track of a block chain.
If I lose my block chain my money is gone. Forever. If I have an issue with a con like FTX, I have no intrinsic protections.
Bitcoin et al are like those fake currencies they sell at theme parks. Devoid of real value except in the ground of the theme park. If I exchange 10 euro for 10 Disney bucks and Disney folds, I’m down 10 euro. Because I brought a PRODUCT not a currency.
And this product has no consumer protections. It’s value is manipulated endlessly with no safeguards.
It’s a right wing libertarian nonsense and it’s a dangerous nonsense at that.
@Chris O’Brien: Tell that to Zimbabwe and their trillion dollars bills
@Chris O’Brien: The euro is backed by central banks and the ecb… Great. So a bunch of people who have proven themselves to be TERRIBLE at managing finances, are in charge. People who have foisted debt upon every man, women, none of the above and child.. That’s who you place your trust in? I wouldn’t trust these people to feed my fish whilst on holidays.
@Chris O’Brien: right wing? Please explain?
@Oh Mammy: everything Chris doesn’t like is right wing.
@: Thanks for illustrating that you have zero grasp of the issues at play.
BTW Yen has 10 thousand Yen notes. By your rational Yen is worthless.
I am HOPING you’re just being dishonest and aren’t actually this clueless.
@: Again, none of this has ANYTHING to do with anything. If a bank in the EU collapses you have protections. Competency of the leadership doesn’t enter into it.
As I’m sure you know.
These little strawmen you’re generating illustrate the lack of REAL arguments for your position.
@Oh Mammy: No consumer protection. Utterly opaque structures of leadership. Easily manipulatable by the powerful. Etc.
This is a right wing ponzi scheme. Nothing more.
@uUleRhCu: Hardly. But if you want me to pretend that removing all consumer protections from banking is LEFT WING you’ll be waiting a long time.
@Chris O’Brien: How is it right wing?
@Chris O’Brien: What is the intrinsic value of a 20 euro note?
@Chris O’Brien: Cryptocurrency is right wing!! Please explain that one.
@Chris O’Brien: now that is an answer
Surprised FTX lasted as long as it did.
As soon as I heard crypto, located in the Bahamas and run by a college kid ‘genius’ with no experience – I instantly thought ‘SCAM’.
Sooner or later, FTX was going to come crashing down. Feel sorry for all the small guys that got burnt and fooled by celebrity endorsements.
Delighted this charlatan has been convicted.
I’ve met so many people like him in the industry I work in, deliberately try to bamboozle you with jargon and tech speak, just hoping you won’t ask more questions in case YOU look uninformed, but when you keep at them it becomes obvious it’s a way to deflect either from:
1 – they don’t actually know what they’re talking about
2 – they’re desperately trying NOT to admit something that’s going to make them look bad.
They depend on other peoples egos and their fear of “looking dumb” to give them impression they’re smarter then everyone else. They’re nearly always just BS artists.
@: WOW!!! Blatant antisemitism. No wonder you choose to be anonymous.
@Tricia G: Not an argument
@: You didn’t make an argument to be refuted. You made a sweeping generalisation.
Individuals are judged on their actions and words. I don’t condemn every man for the actions of some. Or should we? Because if we’re looking for groups containing individuals guilty of terrible things, that’s one trait the vast vast VAST majority share.
See how pathetic sweeping generalisations are?
@Tricia G: where is the anti semitism
@Oh Mammy: The comment has been deleted.
@: “feminism”? Nice attempt to dismiss my response.
You made an insulting sweeping generalisation about Jewish people. I was merely pointing out how stupid and demeaning YOUR method was.
You’ve defined millions of people because of their Judaism. INDIVIDUALS are responsible for their actions, not because they were born into a Jewish family
You’re an anti-Semite.
@Tricia G: And?
Obviously, I could be wrong but I think all this digital currency is a complete fraud, and open to skullduggery.
@Anna Carr (Morrigan_Dubh): Which is exactly the same as any other form of currency.
I got in few years ago. Bought a few grand of it. Went up to 30k should have sold.
Now, still ahead where I was but not much.
FTX = DNC slush fund.
Buy Brit¢oin….city spiv Nigel Farage swears buy it…. the smarmy bankster!
Yeah, yer gotta if ye want nice weed.
The currency of VAMPIRES! (Crypt)
26% taken in, valueless.
To quote all the suckers who are invested and bottom of the pyramid. ‘Its Crypto Bro, you just don’t understand blockchain’. Its a classic Ponzi scheme.
@Liam Clifden: apart from the central bank Ponzi scheme.
Crypto will be revealed as a scam soon ,it is backed by nothing, currency is backed by a gold or some commodity.
@BRENDAN O’CONNELL: LoL, no it’s not
have your say