Sam Bankman-Fried Conducts First Prison Interview, Discusses FTX Repayments


TLDR

  • Sam Bankman-Fried gave his first prison interview on February 18, 2025, criticizing the Biden administration while seeking a pardon from President Trump
  • He maintains FTX was solvent in November 2022 and blames Sullivan & Cromwell for mishandling the bankruptcy process
  • The interview coincides with FTX beginning customer repayments at 2022 crypto prices
  • SBF has shifted his political stance from supporting Democrats to aligning with Republicans
  • His parents are reportedly seeking clemency from Trump, following Trump’s recent pardon of Ross Ulbricht

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, spoke from prison for the first time on February 18, 2025, making his case for a presidential pardon while criticizing the Biden administration. The interview, conducted by Ari Hoffmann of The New York Sun at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, came as FTX began repaying customers affected by its collapse.

Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year sentence for fraud, presented his case through three separate interviews. He argued that his prosecution was part of what he called “prosecutorial overreach” during the Biden administration’s term.

The timing of these interviews aligns with FTX’s commencement of customer repayments. These repayments are based on cryptocurrency prices from 2022 when the exchange collapsed, rather than current market rates. This detail has drawn criticism from many affected customers.

The former crypto executive’s appeal for clemency follows President Trump’s recent pardon of Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road marketplace. This pardon fulfilled one of Trump’s promises to the cryptocurrency industry during his campaign.

From Donor to Defendant

In a marked shift from his previous political stance, Bankman-Fried expressed frustration with the Democratic party and the Biden administration. “The Biden administration was just incredibly destructive and difficult to work with and frankly the Republican party was far more reasonable,” he stated during the interview.

Bankman-Fried drew parallels between his situation and Trump’s legal challenges, pointing out that Judge Lewis Kaplan presided over both his fraud case and Trump’s federal defamation trial. He also mentioned the recent resignation of federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon, who led the case against him.

The former FTX chief executive addressed his past political donations, explaining that in 2020 he was the second-largest donor to Biden’s campaign. He claimed this was an effort to prevent the Democratic party from aligning with Bernie Sanders’ democratic-socialist policies. He also stated he provided equivalent support to Republican candidates through undisclosed channels.

Regarding the legal proceedings, Bankman-Fried maintained that FTX and its sister company Alameda Research remained solvent throughout the crisis. He criticized law firm Sullivan & Cromwell’s handling of FTX’s bankruptcy process after November 2022.

“There were enough assets to get all customers paid in kind, in full, in November 2022,” Bankman-Fried claimed. He argued that customers had to wait unnecessarily while the estate declared the company “hopelessly insolvent.”

The interview revealed that Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are reportedly seeking clemency for their son. This effort comes amid several campaigns urging Trump to pardon other cryptocurrency industry figures, including Roger Ver and Ethereum Foundation researcher Virgil Griffith.

Bankman-Fried continues to challenge his conviction, pushing for a mistrial declaration. He disputes the prosecution’s presentation of evidence, claiming Judge Kaplan allowed prosecutors to tell the jury that customers lost all their money while preventing the defense from addressing this same topic.

Throughout the interview, Bankman-Fried maintained that FTX’s activities involving “borrowing and lending” were part of its margin-trading platform rather than evidence of theft. He insisted that while the exchange may have appeared insolvent, this wasn’t actually the case.

The interview highlighted that many of Alameda and FTX’s investments eventually proved profitable, including a seed investment in the AI firm Anthropic, now valued at several billion dollars. However, these long-term gains didn’t address the immediate needs of customers during the exchange’s collapse.

From his prison cell, Bankman-Fried expressed little concern about his financial situation, stating, “Money isn’t the important one” when discussing his current challenges. His focus appears to be on securing a pardon and maintaining his claims of innocence.