Sam Bankman-Fried denies criminality, expresses optimism about crypto under Trump

SBF challenged accusations of criminality while pondering the evolving crypto landscape under Trump's presidency.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

During his appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) shared that he does not view himself as a criminal and expressed optimism about the future of crypto under President Donald Trump’s administration, among other topics.

During the interview, SBF called his prison life a “dystopian” experience, revealed that the rapper Sean “P. Diddy” Combs had been “kind” to him and also shared details about his time behind bars.

Journalist and show host Tucker Carlson questioned SBF about whether he was the biggest criminal in the crypto business.

In response, SBF said:

“I don’t think I was a criminal. Certainly, the answer to that is no. I mean, I think the DOJ [US Department of Justice] thinks that I may have been, but I don’t share their viewpoint.”

Political influence and Gensler

SBF was also questioned about why he thinks the Democratic party refused to aid him to avoid prison despite his donations. During his trial in October 2023, evidence revealed that SBF donated up to $119 million to politicians in the 2022 election cycle.

He replied:

“By late 2022, I was giving Republicans privately as much as Democrats, and that started becoming known right around FTX’s collapse. So, I probably played a role.”

SBF added that he contacted Democratic politicians but did not ask for favors, as most of them made their positions known and stayed away from him “as quickly as possible.” However, he added that he “heard people saying third-hand nice things” about him.

SBF also commented on former SEC chair Gary Gensler and said his approach to crypto regulation was like “something out of a nightmare.” He further shared that he had suspicions that Gensler had political aspirations, which could have motivated him to take a strict stance toward crypto and be recognized by it.

Former associates

SBF told Carlson that only a few of his former associates stayed with him after the scandal kicked off. However, he added that in retrospect, it makes sense that most people abandoned him considering the pressure they were under amid the high-profile collapse of FTX.

SBF said:

“Anyone who was close to me ended with a gun in their head. You know, being told they had two options, and one of them involved decades in prison. I think Ryan Salame is the saddest example of that.”

SBF said Salame was charged with “totally bogus crimes” and that prosecutors threatened to charge his pregnant wife. Salame, who was FTX co-CEO, was convicted to 90 months in prison by the DOJ on May 28, 2024, after pleading guilty to seven fraud and conspiracy counts. 

However, he contested the guilty plea, saying that he agreed to plead guilty because prosecutors promised to drop investigations into his wife, Michelle Bond. Eventually, Salame withdrew his contestation.

Optimism under Trump

SBF also commented on the improving regulatory landscape under President Donald Trump’s administration.

He noted that the Trump administration is saying “a lot of good things” about the crypto industry that differ from former President Joe Biden’s stance and expressed optimism about its future in the US.

He added:

“Obviously, it’s the follow-through that matters and that is the state we are in right now, which is ‘what will come of this?’ […] So, I think the big question is: when the rubber meets the road, will the administration do what needs to be done and figure out how to do it?”

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