Sam Bankman-Fried's tweets stirred up the crypto community

The former CEO of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that has declared bankruptcy, created a strange Twitter thread that has caught the attention of the crypto community.

1) What

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 14, 2022

In the final tweet of the thread, Sam Bankman-Fried notes: «This is as I remember it, but my memory may be faulty.»

The former FTX CEO was asked about the mysterious tweets in an interview with the New York Times on November 14, and Bankman-Fried replied somewhat infantilely: «I'm making it up as I go along.» When journalists asked him why he was doing this, Bankman-Fried said: «I don’t know, I improvise. I think it’s the right time for it.»

Twitter users instantly began discussing the seemingly hidden meaning of these tweets, with cryptocurrency YouTuber Steven Findeisen suggesting that Bankman-Fried is «back on amphetamines» — likely referring to the fact that the FTX CEO discussed drug experimentation on a podcast back in October 2020.

He’s on the amphetamines again… pic.twitter.com/x7lMe2DOyg

— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) November 14, 2022

Journalist Alex Berenson said on Twitter that Benkman-Fried's tweets could be a signal that the FTX founder is now under significant psychological pressure, which will only intensify if he does have to stand trial. That’s why Fried could potentially be making up a mental illness for himself.

Looks like someone’s planning an insanity defense https://t.co/VIZGrN1NGv

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) November 14, 2022

There is a theory that Bankman-Fried allegedly used the new tweets to hide the deletion of his old «incriminating» posts and to fool bots that track the total number of tweets in user accounts.

looks like @SBF_FTX has not been deleting tweets

the reduction in tweet count has come from other accounts deleting tweets (mostly related to FTX/SBF) that Sam had RT’d

lotta @TomBrady?

all tweets deleted in last 6 days https://t.co/3iv6FnfLWj pic.twitter.com/LcnIxBVHd8

— CMS intern (@cmsintern) November 15, 2022

As a reminder, Fortune journalists found a lawyer who anonymously said that the US Department of Justice’s prosecutors have grounds to arrest Sam Bankman-Fried. The lawyer noted that prosecutors have all the necessary tools to enable the DOJ to initiate criminal proceedings under the federal criminal code. The article under which Benkman-Fried may be charged includes fraud with the use of electronic means of communication. The maximum penalty is 20 years.