Caroline Ellison Freed Early: SEC Orders 10-Year Executive Ban

- Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison released early from federal prison. - SEC imposes 10-year executive ban for role in FTX collapse. On January 21, 2026, Cryptopolitan reported that Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, has been released from federal prison and is now under post-release supervision. Originally sentenced to two years, Ellison served only 14 months because authorities reduced her sentence for her cooperation with the investigation into the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. In addition to her release, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a 10-year prohibition that prevents her from holding executive positions at publicly traded companies and digital asset exchanges. Ellison's cooperation played a critical role in recovering assets for FTX creditors. The FTX scandal revealed widespread misuse of customer funds, with Alameda Research at the center of the fraudulent activities, and investigations later showed that Zixiao Wang, the former CTO of FTX Trading, created the code that enabled Alameda to siphon funds. Ellison then used these funds for trading operations. Regulators have taken similar action against other former FTX executives. For instance, Zixiao Wang and Nishad Singh, FTX's former Co-Head of Engineering, agreed to eight-year bans on serving as officers or directors of any public company as a result of their involvement in the FTX fallout. Ellison's release, coupled with the SEC's restrictions, underscores the broader regulatory reckoning following the FTX debacle. These events signal an industry-wide push for accountability after a significant breach of trust in the crypto sector. According to market research data, as of January 21 at 15:08 UTC, FTX Token (FTT) was valued at $0.494, while its 24-hour trading volume had risen by 0.728%.