SBF plans to launch a token after release: a new scam or empty promises?
Sam Bankman-Fried, while incarcerated, continues to make plans for the future. According to information obtained from his former cellmates and close associates, the ex-FTX CEO is considering launching his own crypto token after his release. This move appears to be an attempt to get back in the game, despite the catastrophic consequences of his previous project.
One former inmate, David Bunewatz, said that SBF mentioned the need to raise between $50 million and $100 million to "make serious money." Bankman-Fried hinted at creating a cryptocurrency project that, he claimed, would attract universal attention. However, as Bunewatz noted, this could have been a joke, and it is unlikely that anyone would trust a person responsible for one of the biggest crashes in the history of the crypto industry.
Currently, Bankman-Fried has served only two years of his 25-year prison sentence. His team is actively pushing for early release or a sentence reduction. On June 12, an appeals court rejected a request to review the case, and on June 8, it was reported that he had officially appealed to Donald Trump for a presidential pardon. SBF's parents have hired Republican consultants Brian Lanza and Corey Langhofer to lobby for his release.
As part of a campaign to improve his image, Bankman-Fried is trying to portray himself as a Trump supporter. In 2025, he organized an unauthorized video interview with Tucker Carlson, for which he was placed in solitary confinement. Later, through his father Joseph Bankman, he resumed activity on X, posting pro-Trump messages and calling himself a victim of the Joe Biden administration's policies.
SBF's mother, Barbara Fried, is also actively seeking her son's release, but the judge has demanded that she stop her excessive calls to his office. Prosecutors noted that one of the petitions allegedly sent by Bankman-Fried from prison was delivered via FedEx from an area near his mother's home.
Cryptalist Analysis: The idea of launching a token after release looks more like a desperate attempt to salvage his reputation and attract attention than a real business plan. Given the scale of the damage caused by FTX and the lack of trust in SBF, any project involving him will be perceived as a high-risk scam. The market has already learned to distinguish real innovations from empty promises, and it is unlikely that investors will want to get involved again with a person who lost billions of dollars.