The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed arguments that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan unfairly restricted the defense from presenting evidence regarding the exchange's solvency. In a 42-page opinion, the panel characterized the government’s original case as robust, citing the testimony of former deputies who admitted to raiding customer funds to cover losses at Alameda Research.

Bankman-Fried, once a dominant figure in the crypto sector, maintained throughout his trial that he never intended to steal client assets, framing the disaster as a series of management failures. However, prosecutors successfully argued that he orchestrated a massive fraud, siphoning $8 billion from users. Now held in a low-security facility near Santa Barbara, California, the former executive faces a lengthy incarceration with eligibility for release set for 2044.