Ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison Nears Release from Custody

Caroline Ellison, a former CEO of Alameda Research and a person who played a central role in the events that led to the collapse of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, is expected to leave federal custody in early 2026.

According to the information published by the US Bureau of Prisons, Ellison is to be set free on January 21, 2026. Her release date places her exit from custody roughly 10 months earlier than the full term of her two-year sentence.

A report published by The New York Post says that she will get an early release after serving only 15 months after pleading guilty to fraud charges for her role in the multi-billion-dollar crypto fraud scandal and agreeing to testify against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO, who was convicted in March 2024, and who received a 25-year prison term.

Reports say that the adjustment of her sentence reflects a combination of earned credits and the considerable value prosecutors assigned to her cooperation during the federal investigation into the FTX collapse. 

Ellison’s Role In the FTX Collapse 

At the time the exchange failed, Ellison was a co-CEO of Alameda Research, the trading arm that operated in close coordination with the FTX exchange. In December 2022, Ellison admitted guilt to multiple fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the misuse of customer deposits, which set off a chain of events that led to the exchange’s eventual breakdown one month earlier, in November 2022.

The platform’s failure left billions of dollars in customer funds unaccounted for, also producing a ripple effect that shook up the confidence across the digital asset market along the way.

Ellison’s official custodial status changed in October 2025, when she was moved out of a federal prison facility and placed into community confinement. This is a classification that could involve a halfway house or home-based custody. 

Her sentence was imposed in September 2024 by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who ordered a two-year term and the forfeiture of $11 billion, representing a sharply reduced outcome compared to the sentencing exposure she faced before cooperating.

During the testimony, she said that ultimate control over Alameda’s most consequential decisions rested with Sam Bankman-Fried, and she further shared details on how customer funds were routed from FTX to Alameda to cover trading losses and support high-risk strategies that later unraveled.

The New York Post wrote that the judge said, “While you were gravely culpable in this fraud, there is no doubt that you had remarkable cooperation. That’s a fundamental distinction between you and Mr. Bankman-Fried.”