Sam Bankman-Fried is now trading fish to pay for services in prison

Sam Bankman-Fried is now trading fish to pay for services in prison, per BI.

The founder of crypto exchange FTX, facing legal challenges, has been engaging in barter with food items for services while awaiting sentencing on seven felony counts, including wire fraud and money laundering.

His recent well-groomed appearance in New York courtrooms, notably a polished haircut, was reportedly obtained by exchanging packaged mackerel, a pelagic fish widely accepted as currency among inmates. This unconventional choice reflects the founder's adaptation to his new surroundings, drawing on his professional trading background.

Having started his career as a trader in 2013, he transitioned to founding Alameda Research in 2017, focusing on crypto trading and discovering bitcoin arbitrage between the US and Japanese markets a year later.

Known as "macks" among inmates, packaged mackerel gained popularity as a form of currency in federal prisons since 2004, replacing cigarettes after they were banned.

This trend was previously noted by the Journal in 2008, with stories of incarcerated individuals, like attorney Larry Levine, accepting mackerel as payment for legal representation and then using them for personal services within the prison.

Global Source Marketing, a mackerel supplier, acknowledged the rising demand for this unconventional currency, emphasizing the economic logic behind using stable-value products like food items and stamps as substitutes for inaccessible currency in prison.

Facing potential imprisonment of up to 110 years for fraud charges, the founder is scheduled for sentencing on March 28, 2024. Additionally, he is set to stand trial for separate counts related to political bribery.