Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals 25-Year Prison Sentence, Crypto Twitter Unconvinced

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has appealed his 25-year prison sentence and fraud conviction.

The FTX founder was handed the sentence two weeks ago for stealing $8 billion from FTX customers. SBF was convicted in November on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.

Stating SBF showed no remorse, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said ahead of his sentencing, "He knew it was wrong. He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right."

SBF paid $605 to file the appeal, which aims to convince the 2nd Circuit and potentially the US Supreme Court that Kaplan made errors in his judgment. The process could take years to complete.

The appeal comes just days after SBF filed a request to remain detained in New York instead of California to stay near his lawyers.

Reaction to his appeal on X has been sceptical. "Statistically, only 10% of appeal cases are won," one person stated. "Hopefully he gets more time added on the appeal," joked one X user, with another agreeing, "That would be awesome if he somehow got more time because of this."

Others believe the appeal will be successful. "He will get it," one X user simply stated. "He will be out in no time, mark my words," said another.

During his sentencing, SBF's defence team had tried to argue for a reduced sentence of 5-1/4 years on the grounds that victims of FTX's collapse would have their funds returned. This was ultimately rejected by Kaplan. It is unclear how much time the defence will now be fighting for.