I have become a believer in cryptocurrency as a whole, but am a skeptic of many of the sham coins/tokens and the fraudsters out there stealing from good people.

I do not know SBF, I really don't know if he is guilty (though what you read suggests he is), I just think his arrest is really important for cryptocurrency. Apparently he was charged with 8 counts, including including "wire fraud on customers and lenders, and conspiring to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws" according to this article: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/13/business/sam-bankman-fried-arrest-news

I will not go into detail about the specifics about the case, You can find that on the link I provided, or just do a general SBF google search and you can find the details.

I am writing because I think his arrest is a good thing for cryptocurrency in the long term, with it being a negative in the near term.  Right now with the way the economy is in general, and the failings of multiple crypto exchanges and the collapse of Terra/Luna cryptocurrency as a whole is not well thought of outside of it's supporters.  In my opinion, cryptocurrency needs this to happen, to weed out the fraudsters. The entire cryptocurrency space needs this to happen for the long term health of cryptocurrency.  It would be good if it all happened now, if all of the sham coins and tokens and sham exchanges went under. It would be a massive blow to cryptocurrency that would take years to recover from. However, that recovery period would be filled with building solid options, health in the space, and would allow for the real value to shine and be seen.

If someone is honest, they don't have "sell" you on that idea. They are confident in themselves. We don't need people like SBF to tell us what they are selling is great, we don't need celebrities to "hawk" cryptocurrency wares. the spaces just needs to grow and build off of solid foundations, we need whistle blowers to call out all of the fraudsters.

Personally, I don't care if SBF is found guilty or innocent. I only care that the verdict is accurate and honest. If he is guilty as charged, he should get the maximum sentence. If he is innocent, he should go free.  We just need to build trust and honesty for cryptocurrencies sake.

As I have written about in the past, there is light at the end of this dark (bear market) tunnel.