Bankman-Fried Claims FTX Had More Assets Than Debt, Calls Trial Rigged!

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Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, is not one to keep his thoughts to himself-even from behind bars. On February 25, 2026, he took to the digital stage once again, firing a salvo of accusations at his 2023 fraud trial, insisting it was all rigged, and that the judge had unfairly blocked any evidence proving his company was solvent. Because, of course, who wouldn’t want to make sure a little thing like “facts” didn’t get in the way?

Posting on X (via a proxy, because even billionaires need to outsource their tweeting these days), SBF (as the cool kids call him) took another swing at the prosecutors, claiming they were dead set on hammering home the myth that $8 billion of customer funds simply vanished into the abyss. To back up his claims, he attached trial excerpts and even threw in a chart showing how FTX’s net asset value was set to climb into the tens of billions had bankruptcy not ruined his day. The man insisted, with all the confidence of someone who’d never heard of the word “humble,” that FTX was always swimming in more assets than debt and would have repaid everyone if only fate had been kinder.

“So FTX was solvent. Who cares?”

Jurors. My jury cared.

Why else would prosecutors make insolvency their headline?

Why else would they get all evidence of solvency banned from trial?

FTX always had more assets than debts.

But the gov’t painted a backdrop of FTX underwater…”

– SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 25, 2026

The core of his complaint? Judge Lewis Kaplan, in his infinite wisdom, barred any proof that FTX was solvent, allowing the prosecution to paint the entire operation as a desperate, fraudulent ship sinking into oblivion. But apparently, that wasn’t a “fair trial,” according to SBF-who seems to have developed a new definition for “fair.”

This fits with his February 10 plea for a new trial, submitted with the help of his mother (because who doesn’t want their mom to help file legal motions?), claiming new evidence, like testimonies from FTX’s former data head Daniel Chapsky, could prove that the issues were more about a temporary liquidity problem, not a grand scheme of theft. Oh, and let’s not forget the allegations that the DOJ intimidated witnesses and hid information. Classic government tricks!

Meanwhile, as SBF rants from his jail cell, FTX’s bankruptcy estate has already distributed $7.1 billion, with customers receiving between 119-143% of their claims, thanks to a little thing called “the crypto rebound.” Next payout? March 31st. So, all in all, the story isn’t quite as dramatic as it seemed-unless, of course, you’re Sam Bankman-Fried.

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2026-02-25 16:36