Fishy Business: Jailed Crypto Mogul SBF Trades Fish for Trims

<p>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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<br></p>
<h1>From Crypto to Fish: SBF's Peculiar Pivot</h1>
<p>In the stark reality of prison, where the clink of cash is replaced by
the clank of prison gates, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/sam-bankman-fried/" target="_blank" rel="follow">fallen crypto giant</a> 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 <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com//">exchange</a>, albeit one that’s popular with this fellow inmates:
mackerel. Yes, you read that right—fish. According to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/sam-bankman-frieds-life-behind-bars-crypto-tips-and-paying-with-fish-858097c6?st=qlb7okwrhbjcjof&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share">Wall
Street Journal</a>, the economic genius behind FTX has seamlessly transitioned
from digital assets to piscatorial currencies.</p>
<blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud and is cooling his heels at a Brooklyn detention center, has traded in crypto for a new currency: mackerel <a href="https://t.co/MYedH4A7dV">https://t.co/MYedH4A7dV</a> <a href="https://t.co/vKFmvpIQnY">pic.twitter.com/vKFmvpIQnY</a></p>— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1727813042237300917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <br>
<p>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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122290720439096481">told the Journal in 2008</a>. Global Source <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com//">Marketing</a>, a
supplier of the fish, claimed that the fish was so sought after in prisons that
it noticed an uptick in demand.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<br></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<br></p>
<h2>From Cryptocurrency Tycoon to Mackerel Maestro</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<br></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<br></p>
<p>We’ll continue to fish for details.</p><script async charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

This article was written by Louis Parks at www.financemagnates.com.