The once-revered crypto genius Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) now lives in a jail dormitory. A life drastically different from his previous life of luxury awaits Bankman-Fried after his imprisonment for coordinating a multi-billion dollar scam at FTX.
A recent interview held inside the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) sheds light on SBF’s new normal. The days of wearing custom clothes and eating lavishly are over.
He and thirty-five other convicts live in a dormitory and get by on rice and beans bought from the prison commissary, where the ability to barter is worth as much as funds.
The former crypto king, who was 32 years old when he gave his first interview from behind bars to Puck News, said that rice “has become one of the currencies of the realm inside MDC.”
The interview shows the ex-billionaire trying to move on by going to the movies and playing video games, but he still has a lot of baggage and questions about his future hanging over him.
In spite of his conviction, Sam Bankman-Fried insists he is innocent. Tragic market circumstances and “bad legal counsel” are the two things he says are to blame for FTX’s demise.
According to his story, a liquidity crisis—made worse by a bank run and rivals’ schemes—led to the company’s demise. He believes that FTX would still be in good shape if he had stayed on as CEO.
The interview also suggests that he may have implicated Caroline Ellison, who was both his lover and an accomplice at Alameda Research. Claiming to have caved to pressure from attorneys worried about potential conflicts of interest, SBF grudgingly appointed her as head of the department. Nevertheless, he insists he had no knowledge of any unlawful proceedings.
SBF is determined to fight to the end. He has a long journey ahead of him beyond the 25-year jail term he got. His attorneys are gearing up to file an appeal, claiming the prosecution used faulty evidence and a hasty bankruptcy procedure to get his conviction.
Alleging unfair targeting of Sam Bankman-Fried and undue influence, they accuse Sullivan & Cromwell, FTX’s previous legal counsel. The success of these appeals is uncertain, but SBF’s will to cleanse his reputation is evident.
All around the cryptocurrency sector, the fall of FTX has been sending shockwaves. Users and creditors who lost millions in the aftermath have pushed the exchange to sell off assets in a last ditch effort to reimburse them.
The whole cryptocurrency industry is now experiencing a time of uncertainty as allegations of fraud and mismanagement cast a shade over FTX’s once-bright future, making investors hesitant.
On top of that, regulatory agencies all across the world are looking into the FTX scandal. In order to make sure that these kinds of catastrophes don’t happen again, governments throughout the globe are rushing to put stronger regulations in place.
