Sam Bankman-Fried’s attraction listening to is ready for November 4, and his defence seeks a lighter sentence or retrial after FTX’s collapse.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the previous CEO of collapsed crypto change FTX, will face an appeals listening to on November 4.
Practically two years after receiving a 25-year sentence, his legal professionals will current their arguments earlier than the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Sam Bankman-Fried: From Crypto Mogul to Inmate
Bankman-Fried as soon as stood among the many strongest names within the crypto trade. FTX ranked as one of many largest buying and selling platforms worldwide. His private fortune grew into the billions, and he rubbed shoulders with politicians, appeared in magazines, and even marketed in the course of the Tremendous Bowl.
That success collapsed in November 2022 when FTX filed for chapter.
JUST IN: Sam Bankman-Fried speaks out after being sentenced to 25 years in jail.
“I by no means thought that what I used to be doing was unlawful.” pic.twitter.com/UlLA8Sycej
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) April 1, 2024
The change’s sudden implosion shocked world markets and left tens of millions of shoppers unable to entry their funds. Belief in centralised crypto platforms took a critical hit.
By November 2023, a jury discovered Bankman-Fried responsible on seven counts, together with wire fraud and securities fraud. A federal decide sentenced him to 25 years in jail in March of final yr, and he’s at present housed on the Federal Correctional Establishment at Terminal Island in California.
Furthermore, he has a projected launch date of October 25, 2044.
What His Legal professionals Plan to Argue
On the appeals listening to, Bankman-Fried’s authorized staff need to problem each the equity of his trial and the severity of his sentence. Their arguments will centre on three details.
To begin with, the defence says prosecutors exaggerated the dimensions of losses tied to FTX’s downfall. They argue jurors have been misled into believing buyer funds have been completely gone.
This created a harsher image than actuality.
🇺🇸 JUST IN: Sam Bankman-Fried’s attraction listening to is ready for Nov 4 — almost 2 years after the ex-FTX CEO was sentenced to 25 years in jail.
All eyes on whether or not his conviction might be overturned.👀 pic.twitter.com/OcemaGvqDB
— The Crypto Occasions (@CryptoTimes_io) September 12, 2025
Secondly, his legal professionals declare the trial offered him as responsible from the start. They argue the court docket didn’t honour the presumption of innocence, framing him as the only villain of FTX’s collapse.
Lastly, different FTX executives, together with Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, cooperated with prosecutors and acquired lighter sentences.
Bankman-Fried’s staff believes that the court docket unfairly focused him with a for much longer punishment.
What the Court docket May Determine
The Second Circuit has a number of choices in November. For starters, Judges may uphold the conviction and go away the sentence unchanged. They could order a brand new trial in the event that they agree the primary one was flawed.
Another choice is decreasing the sentence with out altering the conviction.
Although that is uncommon, appellate judges typically strike down components of a verdict totally. That might end in Bankman-Fried going through fewer costs or strolling away with a lighter punishment.
For now, his destiny rests on how convincing his legal professionals’ arguments show to be.
Why This Enchantment Issues
The Bankman-Fried attraction is about a couple of man’s future. It additionally units the tone for a way U.S. courts deal with fraud circumstances linked to crypto.
Billions of {dollars} are at present tied up within the FTX chapter course of. Collectors are nonetheless combating over claims and repayments, and a change in how the court docket defines losses may have an effect on how a lot clients finally get well.
Lawmakers are watching intently. Some argue the FTX collapse reveals why crypto wants tighter guidelines. Others say that the present legal guidelines already cowl fraud, no matter whether or not property are digital or conventional.
For the crypto trade, the case reveals the dangers of weak oversight and poor administration. It additionally reminds buyers how shortly belief can vanish when buyer funds are mishandled.