Sam Bankman-Fried’s X Post Triggers Questions, Is He Out Of Prison?

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Sam Bankman-Fried’s social media account sprang to life this week with a one-word post that took many crypto investors by surprise. The verified X account of the disgraced FTX founder unexpectedly tweeted “gm,” which left many followers stunned and questioning whether Bankman-Fried himself was somehow back online or even out of custody. 

Mystery “gm” Post Causes Confusion

The brief “gm” post was the first activity on Bankman-Fried’s X account in months. It appeared out of the blue late Tuesday, catching many off guard because the account had been largely dormant since 2023. Coming from an individual who just months ago was convicted on multiple fraud and conspiracy charges, the seemingly cheerful greeting struck an odd tone. 

The post quickly had millions of impressions and took everyone by surprise. More importantly, it caused the price of the FTT token to surge by over 45% within a few hours. This was enough to push the FTT price to $1.15, its first break above $1.15 for the first time in over three months.

Asides from price reaction, the post also raised immediate questions about whether Bankman-Fried had somehow regained internet access or even been quietly released. 

Official Word: Bankman-Fried Still Behind Bars

Clues to the post’s origin came up soon after. A new disclosure soon appeared on the account’s bio line: “SBF’s words (mostly). Shared by a friend.” This suggested that a third party was managing the account and possibly posting messages on Bankman-Fried’s behalf. Indeed, a follow-up statement from the @SBF_FTX account explicitly addressed the doubts. “No, SBF is not posting himself from prison. I’m a friend posting on his behalf,” the account clarified in a subsequent post. 

In other words, the message was physically posted by someone else outside prison walls. It is currently unclear whether the incarcerated ex-billionaire communicated the decision to post the cheery “gm” to his associate or approved the post, but the clarification means that he is still behind bars despite the online appearance.

However, the post and its reaction were enough to warrant comments from prominent voices on Crypto Twitter. On-chain investigator ZachXBT delivered one of the most scathing replies, declaring that Bankman-Fried deserves zero human rights in light of the immense harm caused by FTX’s collapse. The comment was later deleted.

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, joked, “Wen memecoin?” This was a playful jab at how a simple greeting from the jailed founder could cause such a frenzy.

The unusual social media moment isn’t without precedent, as this is the second time Bankman-Fried’s account has been reactivated during his incarceration. A similar surprise tweet was posted in February, the first activity on his feed in two years. That earlier post also spurred confusion and was later understood to be relayed by proxies.

FTX is preparing to release $1.6 billion to its creditors by September 30. On the other hand, SBF still has a long way to go in completing a 25-year prison sentence that will keep him confined for decades to come.

At the time of writing, the price of FTT has cooled down and has shelled out a notable portion of these gains. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at $0.9117, down by 9% in the past 24 hours.

Featured image from LinkedIn, chart from Tradingview.com

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