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Caroline Ellison was released from prison Wednesday after serving about 60 percent of her two-year sentence. The former co-CEO of Alameda Research played a key role in the events that led to the collapse of cryptocurrency trading platform FTX.
In anticipation of Ellison’s release, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) banned him from holding any executive position for 10 years.
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Early release
The United States Federal Bureau of Prisons said that the 31-year-old today Located in a temporary rehabilitation facility In New York. She will remain there as part of her transition back to civilian life. These centers help ex-prisoners re-enter society by offering support with employment and daily integration.
Ellison was transferred At this facility In October 2025. She was previously detained in a federal prison in Connecticut, where she began Implementation of his sentence for two years In November 2024.
Its release came ten months before the planned start. Sentence reductions followed in relation to Ellison’s cooperation with prosecutors and his adherence to prison terms.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said in Litigation Statement Released last month, Ellison was banned for 10 years from serving as a director or officer of any publicly listed company.
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The regulator pointed to previous complaints that the Ellison allegation played a crucial role in defrauding investors. These actions helped FTX raise more than $1.8 billion, positioning the platform as a safe option for trading crypto assets.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also went after it A similar prohibition Against other former FTX officials who cooperated with investigators, including former CTO Gary Wang and former head of the engineering department Nishad Singh. Both avoided jail time despite their involvement.
Reactions to Ellison’s early release on cryptocurrency Twitter were mixed.
Divided reaction to Ellison’s decision
Some observers questioned what they saw as a relatively lenient outcome given the scale of Ellison’s error and the wider damage to the credibility of the cryptocurrency sector.
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By contrast, Ellison’s sentence was much lighter. He remains the founder and former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried He is behind bars, serving a 25-year prison sentence.
Even though they were both main characters in… I would have FTXEllison and Bankman-Fried are pursuing different legal avenues.
Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty and went to trial. The jury later convicted him of multiple felony charges, including wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy related to the misappropriation of customer funds.
Ellison, by contrast, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy and cooperated with prosecutors. This decision contributed to a significantly reduced sentence.
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Ellison testified in part of his testimony that Alameda Research and FTX improperly commingled customer assets, concealed mounting losses, and relied on an open credit agreement that allowed Alameda direct access to FTX’s customer deposits.
Ellison’s release effectively closed the legal chapter surrounding senior executives at FTX and Alameda Research, whose actions helped set the stage for the 2022 crypto winter.
The chances of Bankman-Fried’s early release seemed remote.
US President Donald Trump recently stated in an interview that he has no intention of granting Bankman-Fried a pardon. Although Bankman-Fried is appealing his decision, the likelihood of a new trial remains low.
