Once a cryptocurrency big shot, Sam Bankman-Fried is now doing time at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, where he was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering. An unexpected twist recently occurred when the ex-CEO of the now-closed FTX paid for a haircut using a prison currency: mackerel fish, known as ‘macks.’ Former inmate-turned-consultant Bill Baroni revealed to the Wall Street Journal that this fish-based currency system had become popular after the 2004 cigarette ban, and amusingly compared its stability to that of the unpredictable cryptocurrency markets.
Inside the detention center, Bankman-Fried has been making some changes. He traded his wild curls for a more court-friendly hairstyle, as noted by his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who said the curls were part of his image. Despite the prison setting, he hasn’t given up on his crypto roots yet, providing cryptocurrency advice to prison guards. His spokesperson Mark Botnick commented that “Sam is doing the best he can given the situation.”
Bankman-Fried’s journey from crypto-billionaire to a guy trading haircuts for mackerel is an interesting episode in the cryptocurrency saga. The ups and downs of the crypto world have found an unlikely echo in the Metropolitan Detention Center, where a former mogul is now dealing with ‘macks’ instead of regular cash.