SBF reiterates that funds are not lost, but faces public skepticism from crypto investigators regarding his transparency claims

Even while in prison, FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has not stopped defending himself. Through an X account managed by a friend, the troubled founder publicly responded to questions about the whereabouts of user assets, claiming that approximately 98% of legitimate user claims have been fully repaid, with interest calculated in USD based on the request date.

The Numbers Game in Bankruptcy Proceedings

SBF stated that when the bankruptcy legal team took over FTX, the company held enough assets to pay all creditors in kind. He further claimed that the remaining funds were sufficient to cover the disputed $6.5 billion in creditor reserves. This statement has sparked a new round of discussions within the industry regarding the transparency of bankruptcy litigation processes. It is understood that FTX caused approximately $10 billion in user deposit losses, and SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison for embezzlement.

The latest updates from crypto news indicate that most users from China achieved a small victory— the new judge dismissed the motion by bankruptcy lawyers to freeze payments in 49 countries. SBF took the opportunity to criticize these lawyers for self-paying large sums while delaying user compensation, and claimed that FTX maintained its debt repayment ability before and after bankruptcy.

Sharp Questions from a Notable Investigator

However, this optimism within the crypto community has been challenged. Senior on-chain investigator ZachXBT quickly launched a rebuttal, questioning how SBF could claim solvency while secretly transferring $40 million to Chinese authorities. This transfer is related to an incident in 2023—SBF was accused of authorizing bribes to Chinese officials to unfreeze nearly $1 billion in crypto assets held by his subsidiary Alameda Research in China.

ZachXBT also cited tracking data from another investigator, @DeFiSquared, claiming to have traced this $40 million to a wallet address associated with the Multichain exploit.

The Back-and-Forth of Defense and Rebuttal

In response to the allegations, SBF dismissed them. He claimed that Chinese exchanges had sold cryptocurrencies for $1 billion and then agreed to return $960 million; the transfer was part of efforts to recover user funds, not a bribe.

In reply, ZachXBT used a sharp analogy: Suppose a founder of a Bahamas-based exchange claims they never stole but caused $8 billion in losses, and only returned part of the funds—would the public forgive them? This question touches on the core paradox of the entire incident—fundamental issues of integrity, transparency, and accountability.

As SBF continues to defend himself during his incarceration, the developments of this biggest scandal in the crypto world are still evolving, with significant differences in how various stakeholders assess the credibility of his statements.