The Twitter crypto community has erupted at the shocking news of the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas.; many are surprised that it happened so quickly.
December 12th, the founder of FTX was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police after receiving notification that the US government had filed criminal charges against him.
Within hours, politicians, crypto executives and influencers had taken to Twitter to comment on the former CEO’s arrest.
Democratic representative from New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has maintained a fairly neutral view of the crypto industry to date, told her 13.4 million Twitter followers that Bankman-Fried’s move was a step toward “justice,” but noted that the arrest would postpone Bankman-Fried’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committeewhich was scheduled for December 13.
Bankman-Fried was set to testify before the House tomorrow. Tonight he was arrested.
While I am disappointed we will not have the opportunity to present our line of questioning, we look forward to more information coming to light and justice being served in this case. https://t.co/HS9u1n5Kur
—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 13, 2022
Bankman-Fried was to testify before the House tomorrow. Tonight he has been arrested. Although I am disappointed that we do not have the opportunity to present our line of questioning, we hope that more information will come to light and justice will be served in this case. https://t.co/HS9u1n5Kur
US Senator Cynthia Lummis was also satisfied; she tweeted that prosecutors made the right decision to hold Bankman-Fried accountable for the “good old fashioned fraud” she allegedly committed..
What happened at FTX appears to be good, old-fashioned fraud, and I’m glad prosecutors have been investigating what happened to ensure everyone who committed crimes is held accountable for what they did.
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) December 13, 2022
What happened at FTX appears to be old-fashioned fraud, and I’m glad prosecutors have investigated what happened to ensure that all those who committed crimes are held accountable for what they did.
Your fellow US senator and cryptocurrency skeptic Elizabeth Warren agreed, stating in a December 13 tweet to his 7 million followers that the US Department of Justice needs to hold more law-breaking corporate executives accountable.
Others took the opportunity to downplay the issue. Benjamin Cowen, CEO and founder of cryptanalysis channel Into The Cryptoverse, used ChatGPT to create a poem about Bankman-Fried’s latest predicament.
“Write a poem about SBF, the CEO of FTX, who was arrested in the Bahamas for wire fraud.” pic.twitter.com/OWMXlhcqPt
—Benjamin Cowen (@intocryptoverse) December 13, 2022
“Write a poem about SBF, the CEO of FTX, who was arrested in the Bahamas for wire fraud” pic.twitter.com/OWMXlhcqPt
For his part, memes are already all the rage on Twitter:
Sam Bankman-Fried goes to jail finally. pic.twitter.com/i2JqL7JiD6
— DRE THE NOID (@THEGOONEEZ) December 13, 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried is finally going to jail. pic.twitter.com/i2JqL7JiD6
Also there’s been a lot of talk about Bankman-Fried’s Twitter posts and media appearances since FTX’s shock collapse in November.
Not Investment Advice co-host, Trung Phan, said told his 538,000 Twitter followers on December 13 that Bankman-Fried’s erratic public behavior will make life more difficult for his defense attorney, while others believe that Bankman-Fried’s arrest will likely lead him to blame colleagues and individuals linked to the FTX debacleincluding those who received his large political donations.
In what is likely to be his last interview on Twitter Spaces, with Unusual Whales on December 12, Bankman-Fried stated “I don’t think I’ll get arrested” when pressed about that possibility.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force made the arrest following formal notice from the United States that it had filed criminal charges against Bankman-Friedaccording to a statement from the Bahamas Attorney General’s Office on December 12.
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