SBF Says Politics and Gary Gensler’s SEC Killed FTX, Sees Donald Trump as Crypto’s Saving Grace

• SBF believes his shift from donating to Democrats to supporting Republicans played a role in his sentencing.
• He describes Gary Gensler’s SEC as a “nightmare” that made regulatory compliance impossible for crypto firms.
• SBF claims that without external intervention, FTX would have had $93 billion in assets and could have repaid victims.

From behind bars, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is questioning whether his Republican donations played a role in his sentencing.

In a newly released interview, he claims the U.S. government “siphoned billions” from FTX’s bankruptcy and insists the exchange had enough assets to repay customers in full.

SBF From Prison

Speaking with political commentator Tucker Carlson on March 6, 2025, the former FTX CEO appeared in surprisingly good spirits despite spending a year behind bars. When asked about life in prison, he described it as “sort of dystopian.”

Carlson pointed out that SBF had been a major Democratic donor, suggesting the party might have come to his “rescue” after his arrest—but they didn’t.

SBF recalled that in 2020, he supported Joe Biden’s campaign , believing he would be a “solid center-left president.” However, SBF was disenfranchised after spending time in Washington, D.C., where he was “really shocked” by the administration.

“By late 2022, I was giving to Republicans privately as much as Democrats, and that started becoming known right around FTX’s collapse. So, that probably played a role.”

Despite his early political leanings, SBF clarified that he never looked to Democrats to lead on “good financial regulation.”

On Gensler and Trump

Reflecting on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Gary Gensler, Sam Bankman-Fried didn’t hold back.

“Gensler’s SEC was something out of a nightmare,” he said, describing the agency’s approach as a lose-lose situation for crypto firms.

He explained that while the SEC required new companies to obtain proper licenses, those that failed to do so were sued “into the ground.” However, when firms attempted to comply, the agency would tell them, “There’s nothing for you to register as.”

“They required licenses that they didn’t know how to give, and every company in crypto ran into this,” the FTX founder added.

Looking ahead, SBF expressed optimism for the crypto industry under President Donald Trump. He noted that the new administration has entered with a “very different stance” compared to Biden’s era.

Underscoring the troubles the industry has had in developing regulations, SBF explains that the federal government has been obstructive to crypto’s efforts for a decade.

Now, he hopes Trump will follow through on his promises and finally give the industry a clear path forward in the U.S.

SBF on His Wealth and FTX Collapse

SBF confirmed that he is “pretty much completely broke” following FTX’s collapse. He claimed that without external intervention in the bankruptcy process , the exchange would have “about $15 billion of liabilities” and roughly $93 billion in assets and could have repaid victims.

“In theory, yes, there was enough to pay back everyone back, in-kind, at the time or today, with plenty of interest left over. Tens of billions left for investors. But that’s not how things worked out,” SBF shared.

He alleged that “they”—likely referring to regulators and prosecutors—”siphoned off tens of billions of dollars” from the exchange, implying that external actions worsened the situation.