The price of bitcoin is surging again. Major financial firms are showing renewed interest in digital currencies. And crypto fanatics are celebrating the end of a long period of depressed prices and business collapses. But the sudden explosion of optimism has come at a turbulent moment for the cryptocurrency industry. The last time crypto prices were skyrocketing, the industry’s most influential executives were Sam Bankman-Fried and Changpeng Zhao, rival billionaires whose online sparring could move markets. Now Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX crypto exchange, and Zhao, who ran the world’s largest crypto firm, Binance, both face prison time after parallel falls from power. A federal jury convicted Bankman-Fried last month on fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from FTX’s collapse. Three weeks later, Zhao pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge and agreed to relinquish control of Binance.
‘Last man standing’: The race is on to crown a new crypto king
