The former CEO of the crypto exchange FTX renounces a new trial, but maintains his appeals against the judge

On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Sam Bankman-Fried sent a letter to the New York federal court from his cell at the Lompoc federal prison in California. He waives his request for a new trial. But he does not capitulate. Sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud, the former boss of the crypto exchange FTX is now focusing his forces on a single target: Judge Lewis Kaplan.

SBF withdraws rule 33: the legal maneuver of the ex-king of crypto FTX

Rule 33 is an American legal mechanism allowing a convicted person to request a new trial if he or she believes that the interests of justice require it. The deposed crypto king SBF filed this request in February 2026, alone, without a lawyer. American law calls this a “pro se” deposit. In his request, he claimed that the Biden administration threatened several witnesses to force them to silence or change their statements during his trial.

Justice Lewis Kaplan sowed doubt in March. In a letter dated March 23, 2026he in fact ordered SBF to reveal whether lawyers had helped him draft his documents. The question was not trivial. A few days earlier, his mother Barbara Fried had sent a letter to the court on his behalf, without being authorized to do so.

There response from SBF is direct:

I am the author of this letter, but I have consulted my parents about it, as it concerns them both.

He specifies that his parents did “editorial and organizational suggestions”. Some have been integrated. SBF also claims that his parents helped him print the documents. The creator of the fallen crypto exchange no longer has access to a word processor in prison). He also indicates having shared preliminary versions with a New York lawyer initially retained, but having had “no significant contribution to the final motion”.

SBF against Judge Kaplan: the real legal war of the FTX crypto affair

THE withdrawal of rule 33 is not abandonment. Sam Bankman-Fried specifies this himself. He waives without prejudice to renew it after his direct appeal and the related request for reassignment have been decided. It is therefore a tactical retreat, not a surrender.

SBF's real offensive has been targeting Judge Lewis Kaplan since February 2026. In a formal motion filed in his own name, the founder of the crypto exchange FTX accuses the magistrate of “extreme prejudice”.

He cites in particular comments from the judge during the trial, hostility displayed in front of the jury, and compares his situation to that of Judge McCormick in Delaware. The latter who recused herself from several cases involving Elon Musk after a controversy over a LinkedIn like. SBF believes that grounds for challenge in his crypto case are at least as strong.

For many crypto experts, this request for a change of judge remains pending (as does his appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which is independently reviewing his conviction and 25-year prison sentence). The appeal judges have already expressed a certain skepticism about certain arguments of the defense. But, the procedure continues its course. The withdrawal of rule 33 therefore does not affect either of these two files.

SBF backs down on the trial, but advances on the judge. His strategy is clear: focus his resources on the main appeal and Kaplan's challenge. The FTX case is therefore not closed. For the global crypto ecosystem, it remains the symbol of a bygone era and a warning that is still relevant today.