Key Highlights
- Sam Bankman-Fried claimed in a recent X post that FTX had enough liquidity to cover customer spot balances.
- He argued that most assets were locked in margin and lending programs used by traders, including Alameda Research.
- Bankman-Fried said no margin exchange is ever fully liquid, suggesting FTX’s crisis did not mean insolvency.
Imprisoned FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has renewed his public defense of the collapsed crypto exchange, claiming in a recent X post that FTX had enough liquidity to cover customer spot balances during the 2022 crisis.
The remarks come as federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York filed a 44-page opposition to Bankman-Fried’s latest attempt to secure a new trial, dismissing his arguments of political persecution, suppressed evidence, and prosecutorial overreach as “fanciful” and “incoherent.”
The government’s filing, submitted on March 11 in U.S. District Court, responds to a Rule 33 motion in which Bankman-Fried argues that new testimony and overlooked evidence could show that FTX was solvent at the time of its collapse.
What Is SBF Claiming in His New Trial Motion?
Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy tied to the collapse of FTX, filed the pro se motion on February 10 under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The motion was physically submitted by his mother, Barbara Fried, since SBF is representing himself from behind bars.
The filing rests on two central arguments. First, SBF claims that key witnesses were intimidated or suppressed by Biden-era prosecutors. He specifically names three individuals — former FTX data science head Daniel Chapsky, former executive Ryan Salame, and cooperating witness Nishad Singh — who he argues could have testified in his favour but were prevented from doing so.
According to the motion, Chapsky signed a sworn declaration stating that FTX was solvent during the November 2022 liquidity crisis and that international customers could have been repaid within months had the exchange not entered bankruptcy proceedings.
Second, SBF frames his entire prosecution as politically motivated “lawfare” by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice.
What Do Prosecutors Say?
The government’s 44-page opposition does not mince words. Prosecutors dismissed the political persecution narrative as entirely incoherent, pointing out that SBF was one of the largest Democratic donors during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. His campaign finance violations, they argued, were committed specifically to enable those contributions, making it nonsensical to claim he was targeted for his political leanings.
Perhaps the most striking revelation in the government’s filing is what prosecutors describe as a pre-conviction “to-do” list. According to the opposition, Bankman-Fried had planned — even before his trial concluded — to appear on Tucker Carlson’s show, publicly rebrand himself as a Republican, label bankruptcy lawyers a “cartel,” and use his donation history to politically reposition himself. Prosecutors argue this shows his current complaints are not genuine grievances but a calculated strategy for leniency.
On the evidentiary front, prosecutors maintained that the witnesses SBF cites — Chapsky, Salame, and Singh — were all known to the defence before the 2023 trial, which means they do not meet the legal threshold of “newly discovered evidence” required under Rule 33.
SBF Repeats Liquidity Claims on X
While the legal battle unfolds in court, Sam Bankman-Fried has been pushing his own narrative publicly on X through posts reportedly shared via the federal Corrlinks messaging system.
In one recent post, the former FTX CEO claimed that the exchange “had the liquidity to cover spot” balances, arguing that most assets were tied up in the platform’s margin and lending system, where customers — including Alameda Research — could opt into shared collateral pools for leveraged trading.
Bankman-Fried also argued that no margin exchange is ever fully liquid at all times, suggesting that FTX’s liquidity issues during the November 2022 crisis did not necessarily mean the platform was insolvent.
The comments echo arguments in his new trial motion, where he cites testimony from former FTX data science head Daniel Chapsky claiming the exchange could have repaid international customers within months if bankruptcy proceedings had not been initiated.
In a series of posts on March 12, SBF praised Trump for ousting Gensler and installing Atkins at the SEC, calling it the move that ended crypto’s biggest regulatory threat.
He also continued to push his narrative that FTX’s bankruptcy was orchestrated by external lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell, who he alleges filed a fraudulent bankruptcy petition within four hours of taking control of the company.
Earlier, in a February 10 post, SBF had written that he never filed for bankruptcy and that the lawyers effectively stole the company’s assets. He referenced a sworn court filing from January 2023 in which he claimed to have told FTX’s attorney that FTX.US should not be included in the bankruptcy filing because its wallets were confirmed to be unaffected.
Where Do Things Stand Now?
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over the original 2023 trial that resulted in SBF’s conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, is expected to rule on whether the new trial motion advances in the coming weeks or months. Legal experts note that such post-conviction motions are rarely granted without truly compelling new grounds.
Meanwhile, SBF’s separate appeal continues in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where earlier arguments met skepticism from judges who noted that solvency claims did not appear to be the central issue in the case. President Trump has also publicly stated that he would not consider clemency for SBF.
The FTX bankruptcy estate has recovered over $16 billion and projects 118% to 119% recovery on allowed claims. The estate has set March 31, 2026, as the final global distribution deadline. Former FTX executive Caroline Ellison was released from custody in January 2026 after serving her two-year sentence, while Ryan Salame remains imprisoned alongside SBF.
Also Read: SBF Credits Trump for ‘Fixing’ SEC by Ousting Gensler, Hiring Atkins
