Sam Bankman-Fried has lost his bid to overturn his conviction, after a U.S. federal appeals court upheld both the former FTX chief executive’s fraud conviction and his 25-year prison sentence.
The ruling leaves Bankman-Fried with few remaining legal options and marks another major milestone in one of the biggest financial fraud cases the cryptocurrency industry has ever seen.
A three-judge panel at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments that Bankman-Fried did not receive a fair trial, finding that the evidence presented by prosecutors overwhelmingly supported the jury’s verdict.
Bankman-Fried’s conviction
Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its sister trading firm Alameda Research.
Prosecutors argued that he used billions of dollars in customer funds to cover losses at Alameda, make risky investments, purchase luxury properties and finance political donations without customers’ knowledge.
The collapse of FTX in November 2022 sent shockwaves through the crypto industry, wiping out billions of dollars in customer assets and triggering a wave of bankruptcies across the sector.
At the time, FTX had been one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, and Bankman-Fried was widely viewed as one of crypto’s most influential figures.
His legal team had argued that the trial judge improperly restricted key evidence that could have helped explain his decisions and prevented jurors from hearing parts of his defense.
The appeals court was not persuaded. In its ruling, the judges said the government’s evidence against Bankman-Fried was substantial and concluded that there was no basis for overturning either the conviction or the sentence.
What does the decision signify?
The decision means the former crypto billionaire will continue serving the 25-year prison term handed down in 2024.
While the appeal represents one of his biggest legal challenges, it is not necessarily the end of the road.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers could still ask the full appeals court to reconsider the case or petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear it. However, such requests are rarely successful.
Separately, reports have suggested Bankman-Fried has explored the possibility of seeking a presidential pardon, although that process falls outside the court system.
The ruling is likely to reinforce regulators’ tough stance on financial misconduct within the digital asset industry.
The FTX collapse became a turning point for the crypto market, prompting regulators around the world to introduce stricter oversight of exchanges and greater scrutiny of how customer funds are handled.
For many in the industry, the case has become a symbol of the risks associated with weak corporate governance and inadequate safeguards at crypto firms.
With the appeals court now backing the original verdict, Bankman-Fried’s conviction remains one of the highest-profile criminal cases in crypto history—and one that continues to shape how regulators, investors and companies view accountability in the digital asset market.
