Key Highlights
- SBF argues Judge Kaplan wrongly excluded all solvency evidence, letting prosecutors falsely paint FTX as hopelessly insolvent when assets allegedly exceeded debts.
- Shared data show FTX would have had positive (and growing) net asset value; bankruptcy estate has now paid ~$7.1B, with customers receiving 119–143% of 2022 claim values.
- SBF’s February 2026 pro se motion for a new trial cites suppressed witness testimony, DOJ witness pressure, and withheld info—while the huge repayments quietly undermine the old “money’s gone forever” story.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed Founder of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, fired off another broadside from prison on February 25, 2026, insisting his 2023 fraud trial was rigged because the judge blocked any evidence showing the company was actually solvent.
In a post on X (posted through a proxy), SBF quoted his own earlier thread debunking “myths” about FTX, slamming prosecutors for hammering the narrative that $8 billion in customer funds vanished into a giant hole. He attached trial excerpts and a chart projecting FTX’s net asset value climbing to tens of billions if bankruptcy hadn’t hit, arguing the exchange always had more assets than debts and could have repaid everyone in kind.
The core beef: Judge Lewis Kaplan barred solvency proof, letting the government frame every move after mid-2021 as knowingly fraudulent against an underwater platform. “That is not what a fair trial looks like,” he wrote.
This lines up with his February 10 motion for a new trial, filed pro se via his mother, claiming fresh declarations (like from ex-data head Daniel Chapsky) prove a short-term liquidity crunch, not theft, plus accusations the DOJ intimidated witnesses and withheld info.
Meanwhile, FTX’s bankruptcy estate has already handed out about $7.1 billion across rounds, with customers getting 119-143% of November 2022 claim values thanks to crypto’s rebound and asset sales. Next big payout is slated for March 31.
Also read: HashKey Exchange Lists HSK to Boost Ecosystem Token Circulation
