In the concrete confines of the Metropolitan Detention Center, disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, is navigating a new financial frontier. Trading fish for services, the former billionaire proves that prison’s the perfect place for financial innovation.
From Crypto to Fish: SBF's Peculiar Pivot
In the stark reality of prison, where the clink of cash is replaced by the clank of prison gates, fallen crypto giant Sam Bankman-Fried is swimming with the tides. The disgraced FTX founder, awaiting sentencing for a litany of felonies, has embraced a novel medium of exchange , albeit one that’s popular with his fellow inmates: mackerel. Yes, you read that right — fish. According to the Wall Street Journal, the economic genius behind FTX has seamlessly transitioned from digital assets to piscatorial currencies.
The fish, commonly referred to as "macks" among inmates, had been the choice of currency in federal prisons since 2004 after cigarettes were banned, sources told the Journal in 2008. Global Source Marketing , a supplier of the fish, claimed that the fish was so sought after in prisons that it noticed an uptick in demand.
The logic behind the mackerels’ value is that certain food items and stamps are used as stable currency as their value can be directly tied to the dollar.
From Cryptocurrency Tycoon to Mackerel Maestro
Once a crypto-billionaire, SBF's current hustle involves exchanging packaged mackerel, a piscine delicacy among inmates, for various services. Reports suggest that SBF paid for a fresh haircut, courtesy of a fellow detainee, with this unusual form of currency. From FTX founder to fish aficionado, the twists in Bankman-Fried's journey continue to baffle — trading one commodity for another, albeit in a much less glamorous setting.
Bankman-Fried will be sentenced on March 28, 2024, faces up to 110 years in prison for the fraud charges brought against him, but they're only part of the charges he's facing. He's also set to stand trial for separate counts related to political bribery.
We’ll continue to fish for details.
