Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, is set to be released from federal custody after serving 440 days of a two-year sentence. According to inmate records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, she is expected to emerge from the Residential Reentry Management office in New York City on Wednesday, over a year after beginning her sentence at a prison in Danbury, Connecticut.
Ellison is among three executives connected to the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX who have faced prison time, alongside former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, Ryan Salame. The fallout from the collapse of FTX in November 2022, which stemmed from significant liquidity issues, led to indictments against executives including Ellison, Bankman-Fried, Salame, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh on charges of fraud and money laundering. Ellison’s cooperation in the case, which included testimony against Bankman-Fried, earned her a plea deal and the two-year sentence.
Although she was initially scheduled to be released in February, she benefited from good-conduct credits, allowing her early release. In October, she was moved to a reentry facility, where she spent her final months in custody.
While Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven felony counts related to the misuse of FTX user funds and sentenced to 25 years—resulting in a projected release date in 2044—other former FTX executives have varying circumstances. Singh and Wang received sentences of time served, while Salame is expected to be released in 2030. Bankman-Fried’s conviction is currently under appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Following a consent judgment by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Ellison and her fellow executives are prohibited from taking on leadership roles at cryptocurrency exchanges or other businesses. Furthermore, she faces a ten-year ban from serving as an officer or director, while Wang and Singh received eight-year bans. Ellison has not indicated any desire to return to the cryptocurrency industry in the future.
This release marks a significant moment for Ellison and serves as a reminder of the ongoing implications of the FTX collapse within the cryptocurrency landscape.