SBF’s Appeal Hearing Locked In: Second Circuit Sets November 2025 Showdown

Mark your calendars—crypto's courtroom drama gets a sequel.

The Second Circuit just dropped the date for Sam Bankman-Fried's appeal hearing: November 2025. That's 15 months from now for those counting (or for traders looking to short the news cycle).

Why this matters: The man who turned 'effective altruism' into a punchline gets another shot at legal redemption. Or at least another delay before orange becomes his new neutral.

Bonus finance jab: At this rate, the hearing might outlast the next crypto bull run—and the one after that.

SBF’s appeal hearing is scheduled for November 2025

The proposed calendaring order was originally filed on July 30, 2025, which put the case on the docket two years after his conviction.

Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) handed SBF a 25-year sentence on March 28, 2024, after a conviction on November 3, 2023, on seven counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s case has been moving through the Second Circuit since the spring of 2024, with multiple filings from both sides arguing over the fairness of SBF’s trial, sufficiency of the evidence, and alleged procedural errors.

What’s next for SBF?

The exact arguments from SBF’s legal team’s formal notice of appeal to the Second Circuit, seeking to overturn his conviction, remain sealed or partially redacted in public filings. However, previous court proceedings suggest SBF is most likely challenging the court’s handling of key evidence, jury instructions, and restrictions on his testimony. The play here WOULD be to get a new trial or a reversal of the conviction.

The U.S. government filed its reply on December 13, 2024, where government prosecutors maintained that SBF received a fair trial, and the verdict was backed by strong proof of criminal misconduct.

Like the original trial, the crypto sector and beyond will be tuned in to the progress of Bankman-Fried’s appeal. Notably, there is a perception that regulators ramped up the scrutiny on the crypto industry after the dramatic collapse of FTX.

If the conviction is confirmed by the Second Circuit, SBF’s remaining legal options will be limited to seeking an en banc rehearing, which is a rare review by all the judges of the Second Circuit. He could also file a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If the court reverses or erases any portion of the verdict, the case could be remanded for a new trial or resentencing.

SBF submitted his final response on January 31, 2025.

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