The end of this war between Zhao and Bankman-Fried, the leading names of the cryptocurrency market with a value of 2.2 trillion dollars and legendary rivals, painted an anti-climatic and inadequate image, contrary to expectations. Over the years, they have both built their fortunes as Bitcoin billionaires while also trying to portray themselves as relatable to the public by driving modest vehicles like Toyotas. While they expanded this market by managing their own global cryptocurrency exchanges, they also promised the public a new world order. In this new order, a decentralized financial system created by borderless virtual currencies would liberate the oppressed by eliminating intermediaries such as banks and excessive government intervention.

Unfortunately, both names unintentionally played a role in confirming suspicions about the cryptocurrency market. Bankman-Fried and Zhao’s story proves that the crypto industry can actually be full of scammers and people intent on committing old-school crimes using new technologies.

Bankman-Fried, 32, was tried and found guilty of serious crimes in early November, including embezzling billions of dollars from her clients. Just three weeks later, Zhao, 47, pleaded guilty to the charges and resigned as Binance CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice.

However, the stories of these two people show a striking difference in terms of the punishments they received. Compared to Bankman-Fried’s prison sentence of up to 25 years, Zhao’s prison sentence of only 4 months caused great public outcry. This situation revealed how different business people and characters these two people actually are.

Former CFTC senior trial attorney Braden Perry puts it this way: “If we compare CZ and SBF, both names rose to prominence in the cryptocurrency space but rose under completely different circumstances.” Perry continues: “The nature of his crimes reflects different aspects of the ‘dark’ and illegal corners of cryptocurrency. CZ’s case appears to focus more on regulatory and compliance failures. Bankman-Fried’s case is based squarely on financial abuse and deception.” .”

The different sentences received by two former crypto CEOs reveal that these names are not at all similar to each other in their business lives and personal relationships. Bankman-Fried faced accusations that he defrauded investors while living a lavish lifestyle. On the other hand, Zhao, who tried to portray himself as close to the public by living a more modest life, was punished on charges of non-compliance with regulatory institutions.

It is obvious that these events provide important lessons for the future of the cryptocurrency market. While the potential of cryptocurrencies is still being discussed, it has become clear that this sector needs strict regulations and internal control mechanisms to gain credibility. At the same time, investors should protect themselves from fraudsters by doing more research before entering this market.