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

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was recently found guilty on seven counts of criminal fraud.

The highly publicized trial of the former cryptocurrency platform executive has been one of the biggest news pieces for the sector and could mark the end to a negative event dragging down crypto.

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 Solana SOL/USD.

What Happened: On Nov. 2, Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts of criminal fraud, which carry a potential sentence of up to 115 years in prison. The announcement of the verdict initially caused a decline in the prices of several major cryptocurrencies.

Among the charges against the former FTX CEO 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, another date that could mark high volatility for cryptocurrencies.

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

FTX was one of the leading cryptocurrency platforms used by consumers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies prior to declaring bankruptcy in November 2022. Among the allegations against the company was the misuse of customer funds. The company's FTX Token FTT/USD suffered a massive drop in valuation after an article revealed the company's balance sheet and the sale of the token by rival Binance.

Less than a year before filing for bankruptcy, FTX had a valuation of $32 billion..

Bankman-Fried, one of the company's founders, was once valued at $26 billion at his peak by Bloomberg. The former FTX CEO saw his wealth fall from $15.6 billion to $1 billion at the time of the company's financial struggles, losing 94% of his wealth in one day in one of the largest drops in history. Bankman-Fried was later valued at $0.

On Dec. 12, 2022, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas after criminal charges were announced against him by U.S. prosecutors.

Related Link: How To Buy Solana

Investing $1,000 in Solana: The bankruptcy of FTX and arrest of Bankman-Fried were among the top negative headlines for the cryptocurrency sector over the last year.

Solana is one of many cryptocurrencies that saw high volatility around those events. The cryptocurrency was also linked closely to FTX, given the cryptocurrency platform's former large position in the coin and Bankman-Fried once telling a user on Twitter, now known as X, that he would buy all the Solana coins he could at $3 each.

For an investor in Solana, the arrest of Bankman-Fried could have been an ideal entry point, considering the cryptocurrency’s price drop and subsequent rebound following the event.

On Dec. 12, 2022, Solana traded as high as $13.46. A $1,000 investment in the coin at its daily high could have acquired 74.29 SOL. The $1,000 investment would be worth $4,556.95 today. This represents a potential return of 355.7% in less than a year.

For comparison, the S&P 500 ETF Trust, which tracks the S&P 500 stock market index, is up only 12.7% over the same time period.

Solana hit an all-time high of $260.06 in November 2021 and has traded between $8.14 and $67.99 over the last year.

While it remains to be seen if Solana can hit new all-time highs, the cryptocurrency is a top 10 coin by market capitalization and has posted a strong return over the last year.

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

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