Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on 28 March 2024. A few days later, he also managed to give the first interview to journalists, where he shared his version of events.

In particular, Sam stated that he did not perceive his actions as illegal. Along with this, he expressed dissatisfaction with the actions of the law firm, whose representatives allegedly spoilt the whole process.

Also Bankman-Fried made it clear that he does not consider himself completely guilty and, in addition, expects to get out of prison much sooner than after 25 years.

Former FTX cryptocurrency exchange executive Sam Bankman-Fried

The overall case for FTX and trading platform Alameda Research isn’t over yet. Specifically, sentencing for Sam’s former colleagues in the form of Nishad Singh and Gary Wang will take place on 30 October and 20 November 2024 respectively.

They have previously pleaded guilty to their own fraud and money laundering charges and have also actively testified against Bankman-Fried. When former Alameda Research executive Caroline Ellison will receive her sentence – sources did not say.

What happened to Sam Bankman-Fried?

Lewis is the author of “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon” or “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon” which supposedly gives readers a full picture of the real events with FTX. The day before, he published an extended essay in The Washington Post as a new introduction to his book.

It makes it seem as if Lewis is trying to “disassociate” the Sam Bunkman-Fried persona from the crimes committed. Here is a relevant rejoinder to this point, which Decrypt quotes.

His crimes were consonant with his image. This was not the personality of a thief – this was a man incapable of feeling the risk. Unable to do so, he cannot imagine other people feeling the risk he has put them at. It is his lack of a sense of risk that makes him appear vulnerable when presented in a certain light.

Such an argument seems weak, after all, Sam Bankman-Fried ran a major crypto trading platform used by millions of people, as well as opening trades himself in an attempt to capitalise on market movements. In this role, a person must be able to consider risks and protect themselves from their impact. Otherwise, what just happened to the FTX trading platform will happen.

American writer Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis is a famous American writer. His books became the basis for the scripts of two popular Hollywood film adaptations – “The Man Who Changed Everything” and “The Downgrade Game”.

In them, Lewis described the sweeping events that once surrounded the Oakland Athletics baseball team, as well as the global financial crisis of 2008.

The Bunkman-Fried biography and the FTX epic are well suited to be covered in Lewis’ manner, which is the reason for the new work.

The film The Downgrade Game is based on the biography of investor Michael Burry, played by Christian Bale

According to sources, to write Going Infinite, Michael was in close contact with Bunkman-Fried’s entourage for six months, preparing a characterisation of the now former FTX boss. However, upon publication, his book provoked a backlash, with critics accusing the author of “bowing down” to Bankman-Fried and having a “misguided tenderness” for the convicted fraudster.

Former FTX cryptocurrency exchange executive Sam Bankman-Fried

In his Washington Post article, Lewis came out in defence of his own work. He considers the book a “fuller account of events” that “may allow the reader to reach a more nuanced verdict than a mere court verdict.”

Apparently, Lewis wasn’t particularly interested in crypto and wasn’t invested in it at the time of the FTX collapse. Still, the collapse of the exchange brought direct losses to its creditors and users in the amount of more than $8 billion.

The event also led to another collapse of Bitcoin, which affected altcoins as well. It is unlikely that people who lost huge sums of money in crypto could now “forgive” Bankman-Fried for his actions with a clear conscience.

The collapse of the FTX trading platform is clearly visible on the chart of the exchange’s native token under the ticker FTT

Michael, on the other hand, believes that the collapse of FTX could have been avoided. Again, though, the writer distances himself enough from Sam’s persona to avoid getting a portion of criticism directed at him again. Here’s his rejoinder.

That doesn’t mean I think Sam Bankman-Fried is innocent. It just defines my attitude towards him. I think he is more like a young man with an intellectually sound but socially unacceptable moral code who made a huge mistake. He is not a criminal in the financial system.

The Bankman-Fried story ended logically – with punishment for negligence and self-righteousness. It also demonstrates once again that cryptocurrencies do not forgive mistakes. Especially if they are repeated many times and put a huge capital of other people’s money on the line.


The position of Michael Lewis sounds strange, because the guilt of Sam Bankman-Fried was recognised by the jury - and on all counts of the charge. At the same time, the writer partially exonerates the former head of the crypto exchange FTX and argues that Sam can not be attributed to thieves. However, the money of the trading platform users still disappeared, so this argument seems frivolous.