Ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison To Be Released From Prison In January ⋆ ZyCrypto

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who has been serving a two-year sentence in federal prison for her role in the implosion of the FTX empire, is set to be released next month, following an update from US federal authorities.

According to U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons records, Ellison, 31, will leave prison on January 21, 2026. She was transferred out of a federal prison in Connecticut in October 2025 and moved to a Residential Reentry Management field office in New York City, where she was expected to remain until February 20, the date she had initially been scheduled for release.

Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 to fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the 2022 collapse of FTX crypto exchange, which resulted in billions of dollars in customer losses. She cooperated with prosecutors and testified against Sam Bankman-Fried,  the founder and CEO of FTX and a former boyfriend of Ellison’s, who was later convicted and slapped with a 25-year prison sentence.

In September 2024, Ellison was sentenced to 24 months, or two years, in prison by a federal judge and also ordered to forfeit about $11 billion.

She started serving her sentence in November 2024, which suggests that her January release would be about 10 months earlier than the full sentence.

The reason for releasing Ellison earlier was not revealed publicly. Nevertheless, many federal inmates can be released early through good-conduct credits and reentry programs.

While Ellison will soon become a free woman, she will not be able to resume a position of business leadership for years. According to a recent notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, she recently consented to a 10-year ban on serving as an officer or director of public companies or cryptocurrency exchanges. She will remain subject to supervised release following her release from custody.

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried is actively requesting clemency from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pardoned prominent industry figures, including ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Barring any legal intervention, SBF will be released in September 2044.