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Prominent crypto attorney and U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton has escalated his opposition to any pardon for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, rejecting recent attempts to portray the exchange as solvent before bankruptcy.
As SBF circulates modeled charts projecting a potential $78 billion net asset value by 2025, Deaton argues the legal verdict and creditor losses outweigh theoretical recoveries.
John Deaton rejects SBF's $78B solvency claims and pardon plea
Deaton's comments follow Bankman-Fried's attempts at a digital comeback. In a recent "10 Myths About Me & FTX" post on X, SBF disputed insolvency claims and shared a chart modelling FTX’s net asset value over time.
The graphic there suggested that had bankruptcy not been initiated in November 2022, net asset value could have climbed to $78 billion by February 2025, compared with a petition-date NAV of $16.5 billion. The projections rely in part on modeled valuations of holdings, including tokens such as SRM and FTT.
Deaton, widely known for his advocacy for the XRP community during the SEC v. Ripple escalation, is not buying the statistical revisionism. For him, the former billionaire was a "crook, thief, and liar," and his previous operations were essentially a family-coordinated effort to siphon retail savings into political influence and global marketing.
Beyond the "Sam Bankman Fraud" moniker, Deaton’s critique extends to the "two-tiered justice system," questioning why SBF’s parents, both Stanford professors, have not faced similar criminal repercussions for their alleged roles in the FTX ecosystem.
While SBF’s team shares charts, legal experts remain skeptical, noting that "modeled assets" often rely on illiquid tokens that lack real-world market depth.
As the 2026 political cycle heats up, Deaton’s categorical opposition may signal that the crypto industry’s "pro-law" faction is ready to fight any narrative that minimizes the gravity of the FTX fraud, regardless of current market valuations or theoretical recoveries.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin