Sam Bankman-Fried would like to launch a token after his release from prison

There was a time when SBF was the undisputed king of cryptoa messy-haired genius. He treated himself to villas in Bermuda and financed the Miami Heat without the slightest hesitation. However, destiny played a completely different game of chess on this financial chessboard. The conviction for fraud fell on him like a real judicial ax. The former billionaire is now serving a 25-year sentence in a California prison. But behind bars, Sam Bankman-Fried has not said his last word in this part.

SBF has not said his last word behind bars

According to New York Magazine, SBF confided to a fellow inmate his intention to launch a new token upon his release. He even said that investors would flock in droves to join him on this new project. This ambition seems striking given his current situation and his judicial past. It comes while the former boss of FTX saw his appeal rejected by the American courts.

However, the prison reality turns out to be much more modest than his excessive ambitions. SBF keeps busy as best he can in this very constrained and austere environment. He wrote a “Vegan Prison Cookbook” and plays Shattered Pixel Dungeon on his secure tablet. He has already accumulated around 6,000 games, almost always in “Mage” mode according to his confidences.

“He is arguing that incarceration does not effectively rehabilitate criminals. » (“He is arguing that incarceration doesn't effectively rehabilitate criminals.” — Source: New York Magazine, Simon van Zuylen-Wood, June 2026). Sam Bankman-Fried visibly refuses to consider his sentence as a definitive endgame. He perceives it rather as a simple timeout in a chess game that is not yet over.

Sam Bankman-Fried's media strategy to regain his throne

From his cell, Sam Bankman-Fried is leading a media offensive worthy of a chess grandmaster on a global chessboard. He organizes interviews and multiplies strategic declarations in front of journalists. Its objective remains perfectly clear: to obtain a presidential pardon before the end of the current mandate. On June 8, his lawyers filed a formal request with the Justice Department.

This announcement caused a spectacular jump in the token FTT in financial markets. Its value jumped 50% in just a few hours after this news. Punters on Polymarket now estimate his chances of winning at around 14% according to the latest analyses. However, Donald Trump has publicly opposed this idea twice already.

The former prodigy of crypto also adopted a new and very different political discourse. He now presents himself as a victim of the American justice system. His parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are actively campaigning for his upcoming release. A website, freesbf.orgalso agitates for his cause on social networks.

“ The market has spent weeks pricing uncertainty. » —

Source: New York Magazine, June 2026.

There crypto therefore always seems to react to each movement of its former deposed king on the media scene.

The crypto world is watching this chess game from a distance

The situation of Sam Bankman-Fried deeply divides the community crypto between supporters and detractors. Some see him as a visionary unjustly condemned by a system that is too harsh. Others consider him a criminal who deserved his fate and his punishment. However, the facts are stubborn and justice has spoken clearly. The bankruptcy of FTX has already repaid more than $10 billion to victims.

The irony is striking in this case with its multiple legal twists and turns. Alameda Research's investment in Anthropic, hastily resold, would today be worth around $80 billion. Sam Bankman-Fried could be released from prison in 2044, at the age of 52, if he completes his sentence. His supporters hope for a much quicker pardon than this pessimistic scenario.

References on the Sam Bankman-Fried file

• 25 years in prison, with possible release in 2044.
• The FTT token jumped 50% after the pardon request.
• SBF's appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal.
• The price of FTT: currently around $0.02684.

SBF continues to fascinate the crypto world despite his prolonged incarceration. Even behind bars, he plays his last game of chess on the world stage. Rapper Drake recently cited him in a song, proof that his name remains in the news. Crypto isn't done talking about its messy-haired former prodigy.