FTX token surges 30% following Sam Bankman-Fried post
Sam Bankman-Fried first post
The FTX Token (FTT), the native cryptocurrency of the FTX exchange, jumped 30% after former CEO of the bankrupt platform, Sam Bankman-Fried, posted on X for the first time in two years.
In his first statement since receiving a 25-year prison sentence for the collapse of FTX, Bankman-Fried expressed sympathy for government employees, noting that he himself had not checked his email for several hundred days.
"Firing people is one of the hardest things to do in the world. It’s tough for everyone involved. More often than not, the problem is simply that the company doesn’t have the right job for them. I always told those we let go that it was also our fault—we didn’t find the right role for them, the right person to manage them, or the right work environment for them," he wrote.
The former FTX CEO appeared to be commenting on an email campaign initiated by the US Department of Government Efficiency, a new agency founded by Elon Musk, which asked government employees to report on their work for the past week—or face termination.
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FTX token’s rally was short-lived
Although SBF’s post had no direct connection to FTX, the price of FTT surged from $1.63 to over $2, marking a 30% increase. However, the rally was short-lived, as FTT quickly dropped back to $1.75 within 30 minutes.
Currently, FTT is still down 97% from its all-time high of $85, reached on September 10, 2021, before FTX collapsed in November 2022.
Bankman-Fried last posted on X on January 19, 2023, discussing his prepared testimony for Congress, when FTT was trading around $2.50.
He also retweeted a post from crypto lawyer James Murphy, known as MetaLawMan, who revealed that a judge had denied a request from Daniel Friedberg, former chief regulatory officer of FTX, to testify via Zoom during SBF’s trial.
Bankman-Fried’s trial concluded in November 2023, where he was found guilty on seven counts, including securities fraud, commodities fraud, and wire fraud.
On March 28, 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and is currently serving his sentence at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are reportedly seeking a presidential pardon. They have been consulting with lawyers and figures close to Donald Trump’s administration to determine if clemency is possible.
Notably, FTX had planned to begin creditor repayments on February 18.
