The ruin of crypto’s most glamorous celebrity couple

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Last Updated on 13 October 2024 by CryptoTips.eu

For the media, there’s nothing more sensational to cover than a couple of celebrities going to jail. Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis already knew this when they played opposites in ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’. The audience enjoys nothing more than a so-called ‘fall from grace’.

Just as the Netherlands has its own celebrity couple in Jutta Leerdam and Jake Paul, crypto has also had one in the United States in recent years. Both photogenic and well present on social media. Last week all that ended as Ryan Salame, former CEO of the defunct crypto platform FTX, was sent to prison for 7 years while partner Michelle Bond, a crypto influencer who tried to obtain a seat in the US congress, was convicted for illegal political financing.

Their demise was extensively covered in the American press.

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Tucker Carlson

With Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, Ryan Salame is the third big name from FTX to be sent to prison. Salame tried to stay out of the hands of the law as long as he could  (when FTX went bankrupt he quickly transferred $5 million from the company to his own bank account to pay for extensive legal fees) and tried to avoid starting his prison stay by claiming that he had recently been injured and urgently needed surgery.

However, the judge saw him during a sensational interview with former Fox host Tucker Carlson last week, and apparently Salame was well enough to appear there (and spill some pretty juicy details about Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison), so ….

Fortunately, Salame was able to see the humor of his own situation and posted a rather funny update on LinkedIn. From CEO to prisoner, now there’s a novelty LinkedIn post.

Politician

Money buys you a lot, but apparently not automatically a seat in the US Congress. Michelle Bond, the glamorous girlfriend of Ryan Salame, who previously also worked at FTX as a ‘consultant’ tried to get a seat in the US Congress for herself in order to plead the case of Salame.

Bond used (via Salame of course) about $500,000 in FTX financing to fund her (unsuccessful) campaign for Congress.

A judge in New York managed to connect the two cases (FTX and Bond) and convicted her of illegal political financing. Judgment is set to follow at the end of the month.

His story made it into the New York Times, she had to make do with CNBC. Salame and Bond met in 2021 while both working for FTX and had a child together in 2023. Follow-up is forthcoming we’re sure.

Jeroen Kok

Jeroen is one of the lead copywriters on Cryptotips.eu and discusses all recent events in the crypto market. This includes news updates, but also price analyzes and more. He developed his passion for cryptocurrency during the bull run in 2017. He has learned a lot since then. The combination of cryptocurrency and creative writing is perfect for Jeroen and an excellent way to share his knowledge with a wide audience. Find me on LinkedIn / [email protected]
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