The Fallen 'Cryptocurrency King'... Bartering with Pickled Mackerel in Detention Center

FTX Founder Bankman-Fried's Detention Center Update
Collects and Uses Pickled Godeungeo as Currency Instead of Eating

The latest update on Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX who fell from a multi-billion dollar entrepreneur to a fraud criminal, has been reported.

On the 23rd (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources, reported on Bankman-Fried, who is awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Bankman-Fried is known to be purchasing packs of pickled mackerel sold at the prison commissary. WSJ explained, "Traditionally, cigarettes were used as currency in U.S. detention facilities, but after authorities banned smoking among inmates, pickled mackerel sold at the commissary has become the new medium of exchange."

As a vegetarian, Bankman-Fried does not eat the pickled mackerel but uses it as currency for transactions among inmates. Initially, the detention center did not allow vegetarian meals, so Bankman-Fried reportedly survived for a while on just peanut butter, bread, and water. However, recently vegetarian meals and medication related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been permitted.

Sam Bankman-Fried Photo by Yonhap News

Even before his guilty verdict, Bankman-Fried reportedly asked fellow inmates for haircuts and paid them with pickled mackerel. A can of pickled mackerel sold at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center commissary costs $1.30 (about 1,700 KRW). Bill Boroni, a consultant who advises famous individuals on prison life after conviction, said, "The pickled mackerel currency system in prison is much more stable than cryptocurrency."

The court is scheduled to sentence Bankman-Fried next March on seven charges, including internet banking fraud and aiding money laundering, for which he was found guilty. Some reports suggest that Bankman-Fried could face up to 110 years in prison.

Born in 1992 to a Stanford University professor couple, Bankman-Fried graduated from MIT, a prestigious school for IT entrepreneurs, and worked for three years at the hedge fund Jane Street. In 2017, he founded the cryptocurrency investment firm Alameda with colleagues he met there, earning $20 million (26 billion KRW) within two weeks of establishment, and in May 2019, he founded the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

FTX thrived, reaching a corporate valuation of a staggering $32 billion (42.8 trillion KRW) in 2022. However, it quickly collapsed due to comprehensive financial statement failures and management missteps, filing for bankruptcy before reaching four years of operation. Moreover, it was revealed that Bankman-Fried and other executives used customer funds recklessly, amounting to $10 billion (about 13 trillion KRW), to live lavish lifestyles.

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried is also reported to be giving advice related to cryptocurrency investment to prison guards. His spokesperson, Mark Botnick, said, "He is doing his best given the circumstances."