Imprisoned FTX's boss X account reactivates, raising questions and token prices

After more than half a year of silence, the X account of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted founder and former CEO of the collapsed major crypto exchange FTX, reawakened today. The move propelled the exchange’s token price and raised questions about what it might mean.

Tonight (UTC time), the verified X account of SBF posted "gm," short for "good morning." A few hours later, it added that it was not SBF posting from prison, but "a friend posting on his behalf."

No further details or explanations were provided other than the account’s description, which now reads: "SBF's words (mostly). Shared by a friend."

Prisoners aren’t allowed to interact directly on social media, and it remains unknown who this friend is. Naturally, there’s been speculation that it is SBF himself.

[No, SBF is not posting himself from prison. I'm a friend posting on his behalf.]

undefined SBF (@SBF_FTX) September 24, 2025

The infamous crypto founder last posted on X in early March this year, when he shared his interview with American commentator and television host Tucker Carlson. Before that, he posted a lengthy career-management-related thread in February, following a two-year silence on X.

While the reason for this latest reawakening of the account, which still has more than 985,000 followers, is unknown, it pushed the price of the FTT token, once the native token of the FTX platform that is still being traded, up 46% in less than half an hour, before erasing about half of its gains. At the time of writing, the price is still up 17% on the day, while trading volumes jumped eightfold to around $80 million in the past 24 hours.

Reactions to the "gm" post were mixed. Multiple crypto industry players replied with "1) What," referencing a mysterious post by SBF in 2022. Others said they forgave him and encouraged others to do the same, claiming hate "will eat you alive if you let it."

Still, some were less welcoming, posting a "get out" gif.

"The fact that over six thousand people liked this shows that very few learned their lesson. The next bear market disaster will be far greater than that of FTX," reacted Toby Cunningham, a crypto educator.

SBF (33) was sentenced to 25 years in prison for committing fraud, conspiring to siphon off customer funds from the exchange, and lying to investors. He is now serving his time at the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, bankruptcy administrators continue returning billions to FTX customers. On September 30th, they will begin returning another $1.6 billion.