U.S. Judge Rejects SBF's Request for Rehearing and Issues Strong Rebuke
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's (SBF) request for a rehearing, stating that his so-called new evidence is "baseless and highly conspiratorial."
SBF claimed that FTX was actually solvent, that the Justice Department concealed information, and that witnesses were threatened by the government not to testify. The judge pointed out that these claims are completely contradictory to the trial records; SBF could have summoned former co-CEO Ryan Salame and Chief Data Scientist Daniel Chapsky but took no action.
In terms of market mechanisms, judicial certainty in crypto fraud cases has increased, leading to a faster transfer of investor funds to compliant exchanges and regulated platforms, improving recovery expectations for FTX creditors, while high-risk unlicensed or fraud-related projects are under pressure, with capital concentrating in compliant entities under strict enforcement environments.
Source: Public Information
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Lewis Kaplan had previously sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison, and this rejection of the rehearing continues his tough stance on SBF's defense strategy. SBF had voluntarily withdrawn some new trial motions last week, claiming he could not obtain a "fair hearing," but appeals are still ongoing.
The judge specifically criticized SBF for creating public opinion through media interviews, stating that the so-called "new facts" had already been raised multiple times during the trial. SBF had sought a pardon from Trump, but Trump has made it clear that there are no such plans.
In terms of capital pathways, the bankruptcy liquidation of FTX continues to progress, with nearly all of SBF's personal assets used for creditor compensation, and his attempts to overturn the case through public opinion and political channels have been unsuccessful.
Similar cases include multiple crypto fraud defendants from 2022 to 2025 who applied for rehearings on the grounds of "government persecution" or "new evidence" but were denied; the current SBF case is in the post-judgment appeal stage, further reinforcing judicial finality.
Essentially, this reflects regulatory changes: judicial responsibility for crypto fraud is being strictly defined, with the mechanism being that the jury has already established seven counts of fraud, and the court adopts a zero-tolerance approach to conspiratorial defenses, leading to a concentration of pricing power from high-risk fraud project founders to compliant operating entities and creditors, while also establishing a clear precedent that "solvency cannot be used as a defense against fraud" for the industry.