Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has decided to withdraw his request for a new trial. This decision follows his belief that a fair hearing is unattainable in front of the presiding judge. Although filed from federal prison in Lompoc, California, the withdrawal keeps the door open for refiling after his separate appeal proceeds.
In a letter submitted to the court, Bankman-Fried disclosed that he largely drafted the retrial motion by himself while at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, assisted only by his parents who helped with editing and printing due to his limited computer access. He pointed out that the attorneys involved in other aspects of his case offered minimal input, leading him to believe he had to take this initiative on his own.
What led to the motion for a retrial? The motion, known as a Rule 33 motion, was filed in February and intended to seek a retrial based on new evidence and claims of fundamental unfairness during the original trial. However, questions about the authorship of the document soon garnered judicial attention, diverting focus from its substantive claims and complicating his legal strategy.
The FTX exchange imploded on November 11, 2022, resulting in an extensive bankruptcy alongside allegations of misappropriating customer funds amounting to approximately $8 billion. Bankman-Fried transitioned from a celebrated figure in the cryptocurrency community to a prominent defendant facing severe legal consequences in one of the largest financial fraud cases in American history. After only a brief deliberation, a jury convicted him on all seven counts in November 2023, culminating in a 25-year prison sentence by March 2024.
What were the main issues in his conviction? The prosecution centered on the mishandling of customer deposits between FTX and Alameda Research, a trading entity connected to Bankman-Fried. He argued that he relied on legal advice when structuring these operations; however, the presiding judge imposed strict limits on what evidence concerning this defense could be presented during the trial, which now forms the basis of his appeal.
Presently, the appeal is under review by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. During oral arguments held in November 2025, Bankman-Fried’s attorney labeled the trial as fundamentally flawed due to the restrictions imposed by the judge. Furthermore, there is an ongoing effort to transfer the case to a different judge, alleging bias. The latest decision to withdraw the retrial request ties directly into awaiting the outcomes of these proceedings. Should the appeals court find flaws in the initial trial, the retrial motion would become irrelevant; conversely, if it does not find any errors, Bankman-Fried reserves the right to reintroduce his request unencumbered by prior controversies.