In an era where LinkedIn has been increasingly dominated by influencers, one post stood out and stopped users in their tracks — former FTX executive Ryan Salame, who took to the professional networking platform to announce an unexpected career move: his upcoming prison sentence.
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Salame, convicted for his role in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, wrote in his now-viral post:
“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as an Inmate at FCI Cumberland.”
The unconventional post, shared in the familiar celebratory tone used by LinkedIn users announcing new jobs, quickly went viral, amassing over 21,000 likes and thousands of comments and shares.
Users flooded the comments with their reactions. One user joked, “Waiting for posts about ‘how going to jail taught me about sales / b2b sales,'” while another quipped, “From block chain to locked chain.”
Others couldn’t help but comment on the absurdity of the situation, with one person adding, “Seems like going to prison is better than a resume gap?”
Salame had once been a rising star in the crypto world, serving as the CEO of FTX Digital Markets starting in 2021. During that time, he became a prominent figure in the political sphere, donating over $24 million to Republican candidates during the 2022 election cycle.
However, his fortunes took a drastic turn when FTX collapsed in late 2022 due to a “liquidity crunch” spurred by rising interest rates and mass withdrawals from investors.
As a result, Salame was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison at FCI Cumberland in Maryland, alongside his boss and company founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Salame pleaded guilty to making unlawful donations amounting to millions of dollars, and he was ordered to forfeit $1.5 billion.
“Salame’s involvement in two serious federal crimes undermined public trust in American elections and the integrity of the financial system,” said Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, following the sentencing, according to Reuters.
Salame’s LinkedIn post has since ignited conversations around the intersection of professional branding and personal downfall, marking yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of FTX‘s collapse and its impact on the crypto world.
