Last November, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s closely watched criminal trial ended with his conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. According to the prosecution, Bankman-Fried stole “billions of dollars” from the crypto exchange’s customers “out of sheer greed”.

One key issue was how much money FTX’s customers lost. During the trial, the prosecution and its witnesses repeatedly – in fact, 97 times – put that number at $US8 billion ($12 billion). Although no proof to substantiate this massive figure was ever offered, the prosecution clearly wanted it to stay in jury members’ heads.

Project Syndicate