Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Mackerel Currency’ Creates A Stir In Prison

Sam Bankman-Fried, currently facing legal repercussions in the aftermath of FTX’s troubles, has transitioned his focus from crypto to a unique form of currency: mackerel.

In the grim confines of a prison, where inmates are deprived of both traditional and digital currency, the desperation for substitutes unfolds.

In this bleak landscape, commodities like specific food items and stamps emerge as the poignant stand-ins for money, offering a glimmer of value in an otherwise barren economic backdrop.

As he awaits sentencing on seven criminal charges, the former crypto luminary has studied the complexities of jail survival while incarcerated at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.

Sam Bankman-Fried Learns To Hustle Behind Bars

This new learning has been facilitated by his dormitory companions, including a former president of Honduras awaiting trial and a recently convicted high-ranking Mexican law enforcement official, as informed by sources familiar with the situation.

Sam Bankman-Fried paid jailhouse inmate for haircut using mackerel as currency: report https://t.co/EkfjBWzLA6 pic.twitter.com/OxcarnB2zj

— New York Post (@nypost) November 23, 2023

The practice of inmates utilizing food products such as mackerel, which has become the preferred “currency” in federal prisons since the ban on cigarettes in 2004, sometimes referred to as “macks” in prisoner slang, underscores the system wherein stable and tangible goods have taken the place of traditional money that is difficult to get.

According to the Wall Street Journal, while awaiting his punishment in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, Sam Bankman-Fried has exchanged pouches of “macks” for a haircut with another prisoner.

A packet of mackerel filets apparently costs $1.30 in the commissary of the Brooklyn jail, up 30% from $1 in 2020—proof that even in prison, demand drives up prices.

One interesting thing about this story is that SBF follows a vegan lifestyle, which makes mackerel an unlikely food for him to eat.

However, this food choice made mackerel an easier commodity to trade for the former billionaire by accident. With this new information, he can also better understand the prison business.

BTCUSD trading at $37,427 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView.com

Bankman-Fried’s spokesman, Mark Botnick, told The Wall Street Journal: “Sam’s doing the best he can under the circumstances.”

Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried. Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

On Prison Life And Mackerels

A federal judge revoked the FTX founder’s bail in August, finding probable cause that he had attempted to intimidate witnesses. Bankman-Fried refuted this claim, but since then, he has remained behind bars.

A jury found him guilty earlier this month after just a few hours of deliberation on allegations that he had embezzled billions of dollars from FTX clients while misleading lenders and investors. He will go to a federal prison to serve out his term following his scheduled sentencing hearing on March 28.

The fraud allegations against him are not the only ones he is facing; he might spend as much as 110 years in jail. In addition, he will face trial on various charges of bribery pertaining to politics.

As the drama unfolds, Sam Bankman-Fried’s journey from crypto kingpin to mackerel trader encapsulates the stark reality of survival and adaptation in the unforgiving confines of prison life.

Featured image from ReinhardThrainer/Pixabay