Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison is set to walk free in January 2026, nearly a year ahead of schedule.
According to U.S. Bureau of Prisons records, Ellison is scheduled for full release on January 21, 2026, roughly ten months earlier than her original sentence term.
Her early release marks another chapter in one of the most consequential financial crime cases in crypto history, a case that reshaped regulatory scrutiny and permanently altered the industry’s public image.
Ellison’s role placed her at the center of those investigations, both as a participant and later as a cooperating witness.
A defining factor in Caroline Ellison sentencing outcome was her cooperation with U.S. prosecutors.
She testified extensively against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, providing first-hand accounts of how customer funds were allegedly diverted to Alameda Research to cover losses and fuel risky trades.
Ellison’s testimony was widely seen as pivotal in securing that conviction, reinforcing prosecutors’ case about deliberate misconduct rather than operational mismanagement.
In September 2024, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Caroline Ellison to two years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of $11 billion.
She began serving her sentence in November 2024.
By October 2025, Ellison was transferred from a federal prison in Connecticut to community confinement, a move that typically signals the final phase of incarceration.
Her scheduled January 2026 release suggests she received substantial credit for good conduct and cooperation, shortening her time in custody by nearly a year.
Earlier this month, Caroline Ellison agreed to a 10-year ban from serving as an officer or director of public companies or cryptocurrency exchanges.
While she will be released from custody next year, she will remain under supervised release and barred from leadership roles in regulated financial entities for the foreseeable future.
The restriction reflects regulators’ intent to prevent a return to positions of financial authority, even after prison sentences conclude.
Ellison’s release underscores how cooperation, restitution efforts, and conduct credits can materially influence outcomes in complex financial crime cases.
It also highlights the contrast between cooperating defendants and those who contest charges through trial.
For the crypto industry, her release does not close the FTX chapter.
Instead, it serves as a reminder of the long-term legal, regulatory, and personal consequences following one of the most dramatic collapses in financial history.
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