We Asked New Yorkers if They’d Heard of Sam Bankman-Fried

To some, Sam Bankman-Fried’s impending proceedings is 1 of the biggest stories successful caller news, but to galore New Yorkers, the sanction does not onslaught a chord.

The FTX founder, who has pleaded not blameworthy to charges including ligament fraud and conspiracy, volition spell connected proceedings adjacent week successful a New York City national courtroom. The assemblage for the lawsuit volition dwell of 12 randomly selected New York State residents and 2 alternates.​​ CoinDesk spoke with respective pedestrians successful Manhattan’s Financial District to recognize what this radical could look like.

Many of these random New Yorkers suggested that they would request a amended knowing of the integer plus abstraction and Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency empire to beryllium assured successful their judgment. A bulk declined to beryllium interviewed for this nonfiction and video, claiming that they were not acquainted with the story, and immoderate adjacent expressed distaste for the topic.

One pedestrian, erstwhile asked if they were funny successful crypto, replied backmost “no, nor bash I person immoderate involvement successful anyone progressive successful it.”

Another person, Lucy Rafter – a instrumentality pupil primitively from Ireland – admitted that she doesn’t cognize thing astir crypto.

“It’s similar a caller fad,” she said. “I'd request to larn everything from scratch.”

On the different hand, Haseeb Khurram, a visitant from overseas who claimed to person “at slightest $7,000” stuck successful the bankrupt exchange, has beardown opinions astir the upcoming trial.

“He should beryllium blameworthy and helium deserves what is coming for him,” helium said.

An outlier from the interviewees was Jared Blikre, a seasoned newsman and anchor astatine Yahoo Finance.

The illness of FTX reminded him of the MF Global bankruptcy successful 2011, “but it's astir 10 times worse,” the concern seasoned said. However, Blikre doubted that helium would beryllium selected for the assemblage fixed his expertise. “I cognize a small spot excessively much.”

Attorneys for the Department of Justice and Bankman-Fried’s defence filed their questions for imaginable jurors earlier this month, which they anticipation volition gauge if those who could beryllium selected are acquainted with the case, the cryptocurrency manufacture oregon the “effective altruism” doctrine that Bankman-Fried championed.