Former President Donald Trump was found guilty in a hush-money trial. You can bet hackers and scammers are already figuring out how to take advantage.
The rise and fall of FTX and SBF: The ‘crypto king’ is facing 110 years in prison
I’m sure you’ve seen the headline — 110 years. That’s how much time fallen crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried could spend in prison. After a month-long trial, the FTX founder was just found guilty of seven counts, all revolving around $8 billion the crypto exchange stole from users.
Flashback to 2021, and SBF’s company was trading $20 billion in crypto daily, naming stadiums, buying mansions in the Bahamas and taking out Super Bowl commercials. What went wrong? Short answer: Everything.
Now, he’s in the same conversation as Bernie Madoff. This is so fascinating that I wanted to take you down the winding road of the biggest crypto mess we’ve seen yet.
“Kim, I don’t know anything about crypto”
That’s OK. The big question the jury had to decide on was simple — no knowledge of blockchain, wallets or keys required. Did SBF, now 31, intentionally trick customers and use all the money they invested as his own? The answer (which you know will be challenged in an appeal) is yes.
$26.5 billion
That’s how much SBF was worth when his crypto trading platform peaked. I bet even before the trial, you saw him — a guy with a big mop of curly hair who wore sneakers and a sloppy suit to testify before Congress.
The MIT graduate co-founded FTX (short for Futures Exchange) in 2019. By July 2021, it had an $18 billion valuation and investments from Softbank, Sequoia Capital and other big hitters. It only grew from there.
Remember the Super Bowl commercials with Larry David? That was FTX. (His parents are apparently huge fans.) The company was shelling out money in the Bahamas, too, where it set up its official headquarters.
SBF bought a $35 million penthouse he shared with nine people. All told, FTX spent $256.3 million to buy and maintain 35 different properties.
Spoiler: It didn’t end well
While FTX was raking in money, it was cozying up to trading firm Alameda Research. SBF had an on-again, off-again thing with the CEO, Caroline Ellison. Seriously, this thing is like a soap opera.
Meta didn't inform members of a Facebook group that a killer was stalking them
Your online accounts are always at risk from hackers, but sometimes you won’t even know that you’ve been compromised. Tap or click here to check if anyone has access to your Facebook, Google or Netflix accounts.
It’s not just privacy and personal information at risk when you’re on social media. Criminals of all types troll these platforms looking for victims, sometimes with deadly intentions.
Jeff Bezos needs the money: Amazon’s new grocery delivery has hit the streets. For $9.99 per month, you’ll get free delivery from Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, Rite Aid and a few local spots but only on orders over $35. You can get a free 30-day trial. Instacart is getting too expensive. Listen to this to learn how much.
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Google is paying out an $85M settlement - See if you qualify
Big Tech can make money by tracking your location history. Some companies are so hungry for that lucrative data that they’ll circumvent your privacy settings. Google is currently facing accusations of illegal location data tracking. In other words, certain Android users may have been tracked even after they opted out.
Google says new AI can pick the 'best' photos in your camera roll and have them printed
Not too many people print photos these days. While we might have had walls of framed photos and entire albums dedicated to our family pictures in the past, it’s much easier today just to pass the ol’ iPhone around during family get-togethers.