Sam Bankman-Fried’s social media account sprang to life this week with a one-word submit that took many crypto buyers unexpectedly. The verified X account of the disgraced FTX founder unexpectedly tweeted “gm,” which left many followers surprised and questioning whether or not Bankman-Fried himself was in some way again on-line and even out of custody.
Mystery “gm” Post Causes Confusion
The transient “gm” submit was the primary exercise on Bankman-Fried’s X account in months. It appeared out of the blue late Tuesday, catching many off guard as a result of the account had been largely dormant since 2023. Coming from a person who simply months in the past was convicted on a number of fraud and conspiracy fees, the seemingly cheerful greeting struck an odd tone.
The submit shortly had tens of millions of impressions and took everybody unexpectedly. More importantly, it prompted the worth of the FTT token to surge by over 45% inside just a few hours. This was sufficient to push the FTT value to $1.15, its first break above $1.15 for the primary time in over three months.
Asides from value response, the submit additionally raised speedy questions on whether or not Bankman-Fried had in some way regained web entry and even been quietly launched.
Official Word: Bankman-Fried Still Behind Bars
Clues to the submit’s origin got here up quickly after. A brand new disclosure quickly appeared on the account’s bio line: “SBF’s phrases (largely). Shared by a good friend.” This urged {that a} third social gathering was managing the account and presumably posting messages on Bankman-Fried’s behalf. Indeed, a follow-up assertion from the @SBF_FTX account explicitly addressed the doubts. “No, SBF shouldn’t be posting himself from jail. I’m a good friend posting on his behalf,” the account clarified in a subsequent submit.
In different phrases, the message was bodily posted by another person exterior jail partitions. It is at present unclear whether or not the incarcerated ex-billionaire communicated the choice to submit the cheery “gm” to his affiliate or permitted the submit, however the clarification means that he’s nonetheless behind bars regardless of the net look.
However, the submit and its response have been sufficient to warrant feedback from distinguished voices on Crypto Twitter. On-chain investigator ZachXBT delivered probably the most scathing replies, declaring that Bankman-Fried deserves zero human rights in gentle of the immense hurt brought on by FTX’s collapse. The remark was later deleted.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, joked, “Wen memecoin?” This was a playful jab at how a easy greeting from the jailed founder might trigger such a frenzy.
The uncommon social media second isn’t with out precedent, as that is the second time Bankman-Fried’s account has been reactivated throughout his incarceration. An analogous shock tweet was posted in February, the primary exercise on his feed in two years. That earlier submit additionally spurred confusion and was later understood to be relayed by proxies.
FTX is getting ready to launch $1.6 billion to its collectors by September 30. On the opposite hand, SBF nonetheless has an extended option to go in finishing a 25-year jail sentence that may maintain him confined for many years to come back.
At the time of writing, the worth of FTT has cooled down and has shelled out a notable portion of those positive factors. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is buying and selling at $0.9117, down by 9% prior to now 24 hours.
Featured picture from LinkedIn, chart from Tradingview.com
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