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The 💲80 Billion “What If” Story of Sam Bankman-Fried❗
In crypto, everyone has a story about the one that got away.
The token you sold too early. The project you ignored. The dip you didn’t buy.
But no missed opportunity even comes close to the scale of what Sam Bankman-Fried left behind.
If events had unfolded differently, the former FTX CEO could have been sitting on tens of billions more than he ever imagined. Instead, those potential gains were frozen, seized, or lost as the empire collapsed.
Let’s break down the numbers behind one of the biggest “what if” moments in financial history.

The $500 Million Bet on Anthropic
Before the FTX collapse, Alameda Research invested around $500 million into AI startup Anthropic.
At the time, it was just another bold venture bet. But after the AI boom, Anthropic’s valuation reportedly surged to around $70 billion.
That single investment alone could have turned into one of the most profitable trades in tech history.
Potential missed value: tens of billions.

The $60 Million Solana Position
FTX and Alameda were among the biggest backers of the Solana ecosystem. At one point, they reportedly held around $60 million worth of SOL when the token traded near $8.
At its peak, Solana surged to levels where that position could have been worth over $2 billion.
But after the FTX collapse, those holdings were locked, seized, or sold under distressed conditions.
Potential missed value: over $2 billion.

The $100 Million Mysten Labs Investment
Alameda also invested roughly $100 million into Mysten Labs, the team behind the Sui blockchain.
As the project gained traction and funding rounds pushed valuations higher, that stake could have grown to more than $800 million.
Potential missed value: around $700 million.

The Robinhood Stake That Could’ve Been Worth $10 Billion
One of the most surprising assets tied to the FTX saga was a 7.5% stake in Robinhood, acquired through Alameda.
At today’s valuations, that stake alone could have been worth around $10 billion.
Instead, it became part of the legal and bankruptcy battles that followed the exchange’s collapse.
Potential missed value: roughly $10 billion.

Adding It All Up
Across just these four major positions:
Anthropic: tens of billionsSolana: $2+ billionMysten Labs: $800+ millionRobinhood: ~$10 billion
The combined unrealized upside is estimated at around $80 billion.
And that doesn’t even include other venture bets, token holdings, or ecosystem investments that might have appreciated.

The Real Lesson Behind the Numbers
This isn’t just a story about missed profits.
It’s a reminder of something deeper in crypto and finance:
Survival matters more than upside.
You can make the best investments in the world, but if your structure collapses, those gains never materialize.
Risk management, transparency, and trust aren’t just buzzwords. They’re the foundation that determines whether profits become real—or remain hypothetical.

Perspective for Everyday Traders
Next time you feel bad about:
Selling too earlyMissing a 10xNot buying the bottom
Remember this:
Even someone who once controlled billions in assets still managed to miss out on $80 billion in potential gains.
In markets, timing and discipline often matter more than raw opportunity.
And sometimes, the biggest losses are not what you lost…
but what you could have had if things didn’t fall apart.
#SBF #FTX $FTT $SOL