Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading days are over, and the recently convicted founder has found a new thing to trade while in prison – fish.
The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 23 that Bankman-Fried recently traded four packages of mackerel – known in prison as “macks” – for a haircut before his criminal trial last month.
Mackerel packets have become the most popular commodity in U.S. prisons since the ban on tobacco products. Postage stamps and packets of soup – “soups” – are second and third in the hierarchy of values. The commissioner at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where Bankman-Fried is housed, sells packets of mackerel for $1.30.
Bankman-Fried shares a cell in the Brooklyn prison with former Honduran President Juan Hernández and a former high-ranking Mexican police officer, sources familiar with the matter told the Journal.
Social media experts questioned the legitimacy of the reports and controversial tech expert Martin Shkreli, known as “Pharma Bro,” who spent more than four years in federal prison, confirmed that Macks were a staple currency in U.S. prisons.
In a post from November 24th
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Shkreli explained at the MDC that the market for Macks is larger than stamps compared to a regular federal prison, but cautioned against keeping too many Mack packs, saying more than 500 are suspect.
Four Mack is a rip off. but if you are slower, you would throw a book (a book of stamps) to your buddy.
In MDC, the Mac spot market is larger than the Stamp spot market. In prison, the stamp spot market is more liquid. The Mac is very dense and it is suspicious that it contains 500 Macs. However, it is…
— Martin Shkreli (e/acc) (@wagieeacc) November 23, 2023
As a vegan, Bankman-Fried did not eat mackerel, making it an easier commodity for the recently convicted former billionaire.
On November 21, the appeals court denied Bankman-Fried’s request to be released from prison while he awaits his sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for March 28 next year.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty Nov. 2 of seven charges related to fraud and money laundering.
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