Sam Bankman-Fried Used Mackerel to Pay For a Haircut in Brooklyn Detention Center: WSJ

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is adjusting to life behind bars where mackerel has replaced cigarettes as currency, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday.

With smoking now banned, the age-old practice of paying for certain goods and services with cigarettes in prisons has given way to trading preserved fish. Bankman-Fried traded some pouches of “macks” for a haircut, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Bankman-Fried resides in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting sentencing after being found guilty earlier this month on seven counts of defrauding customers and lenders while CEO of FTX. His cellmates include a former Honduran president and a former senior Mexican police officer.

He has access to a specialized laptop to access legal material and is allowed non-attorney visitors once a week. SBF has also been giving crypto tips to the guards, WSJ reported, citing one source.