Crypto Defies Sam Bankman-Fried’s Fall in Surprise of the Year

Financial markets have alarmingly short memories. Dreaming about the future is a much more powerful force than dwelling on the past.

Just look at what transpired in the cryptocurrency market as the US government successfully prosecuted FTX exchange co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried for one of the biggest financial crimes in history. Rather than selling off amid the powerful reminders of how much everyone got wrong during the digital-asset bubble in general—and the ascendancy of Bankman-Fried’s empire in particular—crypto prices continued their vigorous rebound from last year’s face-plant.

In fact, as the traditional bond market heads for what may be an unprecedented ...