FTX Token Spikes Briefly After Sam Bankman-Fried’s Unexpected Tweets

FTX’s native token, FTT, saw a sudden surge Monday night after Sam Bankman-Fried’s X (formerly Twitter) account posted for the first time in two years. The disgraced FTX founder, currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy, reportedly lacks direct access to social media. However, his account shared a 10-post thread discussing layoffs, seemingly referencing Elon Musk’s push for federal employees to justify their work or face resignation.

The first tweet humorously stated, “I have a lot of sympathy for [government] employees: I, too, have not checked my email for the past few (hundred) days.” Following the posts, FTT briefly spiked from $1.55 to $2.07 before settling at around $1.78, according to CoinGecko.

A person familiar with the situation confirmed that Bankman-Fried can send messages through the Corrlinks system, which enables U.S. prisoners to communicate externally. However, it remains unclear who actually posted the tweets.

Adding to the chaos, another X account, claiming to be Bankman-Fried, posted a contract address and falsely stated he had received a pardon from Donald Trump and was now working for DOGE, a supposed government entity linked to Elon Musk. The account, which had an official government label, appeared to be compromised, leading to a spike in trading volume for the linked token.

The unexpected activity surrounding Bankman-Fried’s account triggered speculation and market movement, highlighting the ongoing influence of the fallen crypto mogul despite his incarceration.