SBF Claims FTX Was Never Insolvent in Prison Post

The document, allegedly written by SBF and his team, insists FTX held $25 billion in assets and $16 billion in equity value against $13 billion in liabilities at the time of its November 2022 collapse. It argues the exchange’s downfall resulted from a temporary ‘liquidity crisis’ that could have been ‘resolved by the end of the month’ if not for ‘external counsel’ who supposedly derailed recovery efforts. The document goes further, claiming FTX’s investment portfolio would now be worth $136 billion, including stakes in Anthropic, Robinhood, and Ripple.

These claims directly contradict the Manhattan jury’s conclusion that FTX’s collapse resulted from a $10 billion fraud. Legal experts and former FTX creditors were quick to point out that the arguments mirror those rejected in court and conflict with forensic audits that traced billions in missing customer funds. The timing of the post—years after the exchange’s collapse and SBF’s sentencing—suggests a continued campaign to reshape public perception despite legal consequences.

The crypto community responded swiftly and harshly to SBF’s latest claims. Venture capitalist Adam Cochran captured the industry sentiment bluntly, tweeting ‘Shut the fuck up, Sam. You stole.’ On-chain investigator ZachXBT called the claims ‘misinformation’ recycled from trial arguments, noting that FTX creditors were paid based on cryptocurrency prices at the time of the exchange’s November 2022 bankruptcy, not at today’s significantly higher valuations.

This distinction is crucial for understanding why SBF’s solvency argument fails under scrutiny. While assets like SOL and BTC have appreciated substantially since FTX’s collapse, creditors who held these assets received compensation based on November 2022 values, meaning many users suffered heavy losses regardless of current portfolio valuations. ZachXBT emphasized that the rise in value of FTX’s illiquid investments represents ‘pure coincidence’ rather than evidence of solvency, noting that ‘they factually could not pay out users at the time of bankruptcy.’

The prison document fits neatly into SBF’s ongoing narrative that he’s a victim of political targeting rather than the architect of one of crypto’s biggest frauds. Just weeks earlier, posts attributed to SBF on GETTR alleged his arrest was politically motivated, blaming his pivot toward centrist politics and donations to Republicans. He specifically accused the Biden administration and former SEC Chair Gary Gensler of timing his arrest to silence him before a key crypto bill vote and planned congressional testimony.

Despite his 25-year sentence, SBF and his family continue to insist he was wrongfully prosecuted. His parents, Stanford professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are reportedly exploring options for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. The irony is particularly sharp given Trump’s previous pardon of Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, who played a crucial role in triggering FTX’s final collapse when Binance announced it would sell its $529 million worth of FTT tokens in November 2022.

The fundamental reality remains unchanged by SBF’s prison post: FTX experienced a digital-era bank run when Binance’s FTT sell-off announcement followed a CoinDesk report exposing Alameda Research’s heavy dependence on the token. Though Binance briefly considered acquiring FTX to contain the fallout, it backed out after due diligence, leaving SBF’s empire to collapse within days. The subsequent forensic investigation revealed billions in missing customer funds that had been improperly funneled to Alameda Research.

SBF’s attempt to weaponize the subsequent appreciation of FTX’s assets ignores the basic fact that the exchange couldn’t meet customer withdrawal demands when they mattered most. The document’s claim that FTX’s portfolio would now be worth $136 billion serves as distraction from the established fraud that occurred, not evidence of solvency at the time of collapse. As the crypto community’s immediate backlash demonstrates, SBF’s latest prison post represents more spin than substance in the ongoing saga of one of cryptocurrency’s most spectacular failures.