On October 31, 2025, a detailed document was published on Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) social media page on X, in which the former head of FTX claims that the cryptocurrency exchange and its associated Alameda Research were never insolvent. He accuses the legal team handling the company’s bankruptcy of asset seizure and artificially creating a crisis.
This is reported by Finway
The Essence of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Accusations
According to SBF or the person publishing documents on his behalf, at the time of bankruptcy in November 2022, FTX owned assets worth $14.6 billion. The document emphasizes that all affected clients have already received or will receive compensation ranging from 119% to 143% of their deposits, and that 98% of users have already received an average of 120% of their initial amount.
“After paying $8 billion in claims and $1 billion in attorney fees, the company still had $8 billion left. In fact, FTX was never insolvent. There were always enough assets to fully settle all debts to clients — both in November 2022 and today,” the document states.
Bankman-Fried describes the situation in November 2022 as a liquidity crisis, which he believes could have been resolved by the end of the month. However, after he and other executives were removed from managing the company, FTX lost the ability to overcome the difficulties on its own.
The document claims that at the time of the management’s removal, the exchange had already begun repaying debts to clients, and commission fees were bringing the company up to $3 million in revenue daily. SBF also assures that FTX could have settled with clients in kind, without delays and without dollarizing deposits. He believes this would have been possible if it weren’t for the intervention of external lawyers who initiated the bankruptcy process.
The Role of the Law Firm and Community Reaction
The responsibility for FTX’s bankruptcy is placed on the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell in the document. According to SBF, their intervention led to the loss of control over assets, the sale of some properties at undervalued prices, mass layoffs, and prolonged litigation. As a result, it is claimed that clients and investors incurred losses of about $120 billion.
Bankman-Fried is convinced that FTX could have been valued at $136 billion if it weren’t for external management, and that the company had enough assets to meet all obligations to clients as early as 2022.
In February 2025, SBF publicly expressed a desire to receive a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. Later, there were reports that his close circle was lobbying for such a decision, but no official request has been recorded at this time.
The document published by SBF has sparked a controversial reaction in the cryptocurrency community. Noted crypto detective ZachXBT criticized Bankman-Fried’s position, stating:
“The fact that illiquid investments are worth more today is just coincidence. You clearly haven’t learned any lessons from your time in prison and are repeating the same misinformation as before.”
Critics believe that SBF is trying to use the rising value of FTX assets to justify past actions and shifts the blame for the company’s collapse onto external management, even though the exchange was unable to fulfill its obligations to users during the bankruptcy.