Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried once again weighed in on the exchange’s bankruptcy debate after responding to a satire post by a company creditor that accused court-appointed CEO John J. Ray III of deliberately keeping a “perfectly solvent” platform in bankruptcy in order to generate record fees and destroy estate value.
The creditor alleged that billions in valuable equity and venture stakes were sold at deep discounts, and that assets were mishandled, clawbacks mismanaged, and subsidiaries forced into bankruptcy without board authority. SBF’s X account replied,
“I don’t quite agree with every point – but, yeah, this is basically what happened. I’m not saying FTX’s solvency or the Debtors’ mismanagement are the reasons I’m innocent (although it’s a piece of the story!). But the Debtors are still withholding funds.”
No Remorse, No Accountability
His comments immediately triggered a backlash. On-chain investigator ZachXBT responded by demanding answers about the alleged $40 million transfer to Chinese authorities that he says Bankman-Fried hid from the public.
Meanwhile, venture capitalist Adam Cochran said Bankman-Fried continues to show no remorse for his role in the collapse, arguing that his attempts to reframe the events are exactly why he deserves harsh punishment and does not get to rewrite history.
The latest episode comes just days after a fresh court setback for Bankman-Fried, with judges on the 2nd Circuit in New York offering little indication they were persuaded by his appeal claims. During a hearing on Tuesday, SBF’s attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued his conviction should be overturned because the first trial was “fundamentally unfair,” but the three-judge appeals panel repeatedly pushed back and questioned whether he had any grounds strong enough to overturn a jury verdict in a case involving billions in losses. Judge Barrington Parker told Shapiro,
“From my reading of the record, (there was) very substantial evidence of guilt. Are you seriously suggesting to us that if your client had been able to testify about the role that attorneys played in preparing these various documents, the not-guilty verdicts would have rolled in?”
SBF’s Prison Narrative
The renewed online fight also follows the sudden reactivation last month of the convicted former billionaire’s X account, which posted a 14-page document claiming FTX was “never insolvent.” He had asserted that outside lawyers and political forces sabotaged a solvable liquidity crunch.
The document insisted that the bankruptcy estate misrepresented FTX’s balance sheet, and that its locked portfolio today would be worth well over $100 billion. That narrative was also widely rejected by experts who said the claims were similar to arguments the jury had already heard in 2023. The backlash then and now shows no signs of fading.