THEY used to say that cryptocurrency is the wave of the future and that your block chained account will be well protected by a system of unbreakable codes. Your money, which will be converted into cryptocurrency, will be backed by an anonymous CEO (chief executive officer) operating the 'banking system.' There is no need for any law or regulation to protect the public.

Enter Sam Bankman-Fried, son of college professors who made $8 billion in customer funds, disappear. He has been indicted for fraud, and is facing other criminal charges but was released after posting a $250-million bail while awaiting trial. The collapse of FTX, the crypto giant that he founded and whose money he spent as if it were his personal bank account, does not speak well of the future of cryptocurrency.