The founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), quickly adapted to the economic reality of life in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, as reported by The Wall Street Journal citing sources. He used mackerel to exchange for haircut services.
Mackerel, commonly referred to as “macks” among inmates, has become the preferred currency in US prisons since the ban on cigarettes in 2004. Other commodities used by inmates for bartering services include stamps and soup packets. However, mackerel also cannot withstand the inflationary pressures of the outside world. According to reports, a bag of mackerel slices at the Brooklyn prison commissary is priced at $1.3, a 30% increase from $1 in 2020.
Prison consultant Bill Baroni, who has been incarcerated before, mentioned in an interview that SBF paid 4 macks for a haircut in prison, adding, “The mackerel currency system is more stable than cryptocurrency.”
Reports also revealed that SBF is detained in the same cell as former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and former Mexican Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna. In addition, sources disclosed that SBF has provided advice on cryptocurrency to prison guards. The spokesperson for the US Federal Bureau of Prisons told The Wall Street Journal that the agency cannot comment on the situation of any individual in its custody due to privacy and security concerns. SBF’s spokesperson, Mark Botnick, mentioned in an interview, “SBF is doing his best in this situation.”
SBF is currently awaiting sentencing. According to previous reports by Zombit, the jury has reached a verdict, finding SBF guilty on all seven charges of fraud and conspiracy. Judge Lewis Kaplan has scheduled SBF’s sentencing for March 28, 2024.