If You Invested $1,000 In Bitcoin When Sam Bankman-Fried Was Arrested, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

A highly publicized trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried reached its conclusion Nov. 2 with the cryptocurrency figure found guilty on seven counts of criminal fraud.

Here's a look back at the fall of FTX and Bankman-Fried's arrest, which may have been a good starting point to buy Bitcoin BTC/USD.

What Happened: Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts of criminal fraud, which carry a potential sentence of up to 115 years in prison. News of the verdict sent the price of many major cryptocurrencies down on Thursday night.

Among the charges against Bankman Fried were wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The trial began in early October and included testimony from several former FTX and Alameda employees testifying against Bankman-Fried.

Sentencing for Bankman-Fried is scheduled for March 28, 2024.

Bankman-Fried is also set to face a trial in March related to charges of paying bribes to Chinese officials.

The former FTX CEO could also appeal the conviction, which could impact the sentencing date.

At its peak, FTX was one of the leading cryptocurrency platforms, used by consumers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. It was later alleged that the company had misused customer funds and the valuation of the company's token FTX Token FTT/USD saw a massive drop in valuation after an article showing the company's balance sheet and the sale of the token by rival Binance.

In November 2022, FTX declared bankruptcy, which came less than a year after the company was valued at $32 billion.

Bankman-Fried saw his wealth dramatically fall from $15.6 billion to $1 billion at the time, losing 94% of his wealth in one day in one of the largest drops in history. Bankman-Fried, who was worth $26 billion at his peak, was later valued at $0 by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The former FTX CEO was arrested on Dec. 12, 2022 in the Bahamas after criminal charges were announced against him by the U.S.

Related Link: If You Invested $1,000 In Bitcoin When Warren Buffett Called It Rat Poison Squared, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today

Investing $1,000 in Bitcoin: The price of Bitcoin hit all-time highs of nearly $69,000 in 2021 and was among the leading cryptocurrencies on the year.

In 2022, cryptocurrencies remained a huge topic of interest from investors and consumers who knew little about the sector.

A string of bankruptcies by cryptocurrency companies throughout 2022 sent prices sharply down and saw investors pulling funds out and investing elsewhere.

On Dec. 12, 2022, Bitcoin traded at an intraday high of $17,212.56. An investor who bought $1,000 of Bitcoin when Bankman-Fried was arrested could have purchased 0.0581 BTC.

The $1,000 investment would be worth $2,015.31 today based on a price of $34,686.84 at the time of writing.

This represents a hypothetical return of 101.5% in a nearly one-year period.

For comparison, the same $1,000 invested in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the S&P 500, would be worth $1,089.37 today. This represents a return of 8.9% over the same time period.

History has shown that Bitcoin doesn't trade in a straight line and can be highly volatile around events in the sector. Investors who recognized a potential recovery in the price of Bitcoin after Bankman-Fried was arrested have been pleasantly rewarded.  

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