A jury found the founder of FTX guilty on seven counts of criminal fraud, closing a chapter on one of the most publicised trials of the cryptocurrency world. 

The jury delivered the verdict after less than five hours of deliberations, leaving the judge to decide on a sentence that could send Bankman-Fried to prison for as many as 115 years.

The former billionaire, 31, was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the US after FTX went bankrupt last year. The downfall of the crypto exchange and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research rattled financial markets and caused Bankman-Fried to lose his estimated $26bn (£21bn) fortune. 

“Sam Bankman-Fried thought that he was above the law,” said attorney-general Merrick Garland. “Today’s verdict proves he was wrong.”

The ‘crypto king’ was accused of having stolen at least $10bn (£8bn) of his customers’ money and using the money for risky bets at Alameda. 

He was found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit...