Sam Bankman-Fried’s Prison Sentence Slashed—Bureau of Prisons Cuts 25-Year Term to 21

Disgraced crypto kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried just caught a break—four years’ worth. The Bureau of Prisons quietly trimmed his 25-year sentence, putting his release date in 2044. No explanation given—just another day in the justice system’s relationship with white-collar crime.

Meanwhile, retail investors who trusted FTX are still waiting for their ’get out of jail free’ cards. Some things never change.

SBF Transferred Out Of NYC

On April 18, Sam Bankman-Fried was transported from Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY, to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, OK.

While no specific reason was given for Bankman-Fried’s transfer, the one-time “king of crypto” had been sent to solitary confinement earlier this month after an unauthorized interview with Tucker Carlson.

The FTX founder has been in prison since August 2023, when Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked his bail after he leaked excerpts of his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison’s diary to the New York Times, citing potential witness tampering.

The former Alameda Research CEO, who was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Bankman-Fried until early 2022, was largely considered the prosecution’s star witness against the crypto kingpin.

Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all charges in November of 2023 for orchestrating the massive crypto scheme that saw investors drained of over $8 billion.

SBF Associates Face The Music

Meanwhile, Ellison was sentenced to two years in federal prison for her role in the crypto exchange’s collapse. FTX co-founder Gary Wang and the exchange’s director of engineering Nishad Singh were both sentenced to time served by Kaplan, effectively avoiding jail time altogether.

All three cooperated with the federal government in hopes of getting a lesser sentence and testified against their one-time boss.

FTX to Deliver Up to 120% Creditor Payout on May 30

FTX, once a dominant force in the crypto exchange space, collapsed in November 2022 after facing a severe liquidity crisis.

In May, FTX Trading Ltd. and the FTX Recovery Trust announced that distributions under the FTX Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization will resume on May 30, 2025.

The forthcoming round, known as the Second Distribution, will be made to eligible creditors in the Convenience and Non-Convenience Classes who have completed all required steps, including KYC verification, tax FORM submission, and onboarding with one of FTX’s designated Distribution Service Providers—BitGo or Kraken.

FTX’s restructuring plan, approved in October 2024, prioritized repayments to users with claims under $50,000. Around 98% of affected users will receive 119% of their declared funds.