Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.

The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm’s dramatic collapse in 2022.

He was found to have stolen billions from customers ahead of the failure.

Bankman-Fried’s legal team will appeal against his conviction.

A message from his parents shared with the BBC by a representative for Bankman-Fried said: “We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.”

Earlier, the 32-year-old said in court he knew “a lot of people” felt “really let down”.

“I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage,” he said, speaking quietly and clearly ahead of his sentencing.

FTX was one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges before its demise, turning Bankman-Fried into a business celebrity and attracting millions of customers who used the platform to buy and trade cryptocurrency.

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