Sam Bankman-Fried Started Buying Solana’s SOL at 20 Cents Using ‘Alameda Profits,’ He Says at His Trial

Sam Bankman-Fried once infamously offered to buy all the Solana tokens he could for $3 each. On Friday, while testifying at his criminal trial, he revealed he’d actually started buying SOL much earlier in its history, at 20 cents apiece.

Regarding how he paid for the investments, he said during questioning from his lawyer: “I believed the funds came from Alameda’s operating profits” as well as third-party lenders.

SOL has been described as a “Sam Coin” due to its close association with Bankman-Fried. He and his companies invested heavily in Solana-based projects and assets, and evangelized its brand prior to FTX’s collapse last November.

The exchange’s downfall wreaked havoc on the Solana ecosystem; the blockchain’s community has been trying to shake his shadow ever since.

Bankman-Fried’s testimony amounted to an attempt by defense lawyer Mark Cohen to get his client to show that he did “due diligence” on investments he made while running FTX and Alameda, but federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon “objection-ed” it down.

SOL traded at $32 at press time Friday.