SafeMoon’s meteoric 2021 rise has ended in a 100-month prison sentence for former CEO Braden Karony, convicted of fraud tied to investor funds.
Last Updated: February 12, 2026 at 9:20 PM UTC +1
Published: February 12, 2026 at 9:20 PM UTC +1
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Safemoon is known by many crypto enthusiasts and was once one of the most viral tokens launched in 2021. At the start of the launch, the coin started with a nearly zero market cap and increased with popularity to a height of approximately $17 billion.
The difference that they made back then was through their deflationary tokenomics, 10% transaction fee that included a 5% redistribution to the holders and another 5% going directly to liquidity. This rise in popularity happened within only a month of launching the token and increased over 23,000% within this timeframe. The holder base for the company grew to hundreds of thousands and became increasingly popular.
While this was all of the talk in the crypto boom in 2021, a rising discussion of this company has come back. But what is this we are hearing?
On February 9th, 2026, former chief executive officer of Safemoon, Braden Karoney, was found guilty and sentenced to jail for 100 months (8 years and 4 months). In May of 2025, he was convicted by prosecutors for wire fraud, conspiracy, and securities fraud that were all related back to the improper use of millions of dollars from investors’ funds.
In other words, the prosecutors stated that the investors were misled to believe one thing that they were told and a totally different situation was happening behind closed doors. The biggest selling point for the investors was that they were told that the liquidity pool was safely “locked” away–a claim that later unraveled under scrutiny.
These locked liquidity pools are, in general, an act of temporarily restricting access, via a smart contract, to a portion of the funds within a DeFi project such as this one. By locking up a certain amount, this allows nothing to be sold or withdrawn and ensures to the investors that the company is looking long term and is not trying to pull any scams. This built trust among investors, almost like a super pinky promise.
But this is where things take a full 180. Authorities found that the pool was, indeed, not fully locked. This is where they found out the CEO had his fingers crossed behind his back during the pinky promise. In reality, Karoney held the LP tokens, which are the ownership to the pool, instead of locking them away through a smart contract. He redeemed and withdrew them himself. Prosecutors showed that executives could easily access and use these funds, even though investors were told they were locked.
Because he controlled the LP tokens and withdrew liquidity despite claiming it was locked, this was considered a direct misrepresentation to investors, forming the basis of the fraud charges. By controlling the liquidity, Karoney could pull money out before normal traders noticed, taking value for himself while the market appeared stable. This reduces the market’s stability and harms regular holders.
The court filings and news reports have shown that portions of this money were indeed not secure but instead used on luxuries, such as a $2.2 million house in Utah, an Audi R8, and other items. Department heads said this money was for investors and was supposed to be secure and “locked” but, in fact, was not.
As the tale goes, guilty people will do anything to not look guilty. In this case, Karoney’s backup, aka the lawyers, tried to argue that the company was fast-growing in a wild market. They said there was no preset plan to scam anyone, and things got messy because so much was happening at once.
In 2021, crypto was like a wild west. A period now widely recognized as the height of speculative excess–when all companies were fighting to be the next sheriff in town, and trying to claim their crown as number one. The media was excited, big moves were being made, and there was little regulation surrounding the circumstances.
In the end, the jury was not blinded by this sob story. They looked at the hard evidence. Going by the messages, documents, and testimonies, they did not fall for the claim that it was just a mistake but concluded that the company knowingly lied and took the money. The jury ultimately saw that he misrepresented the liquidity pool while secretly controlling it, after telling investors otherwise.
If you were part of the crypto trends in 2021, then you know the vibes of the many new people and faces, “get rich quick” ideas, and hardly any oversight. Safemoon became an idol in this era, and people rushed in to calm their FOMO. Dreams grew, and then reality hit like a ton of bricks.
Now, instead of being remembered for gains, it’s being talked about for legal trouble and millions lost. The judge even said that this scheme looked more like theft than just fraud.
This situation shows that in crypto, hype and community support don’t guarantee safety or honesty. When trust breaks, legal consequences can be harsh.
Safemoon’s rise was huge and dramatic; its fall was even worse. Now, the sentencing of its former CEO makes this one of the most talked-about stories from the 2021 crypto wild west. Investors who remember the craze may see this as a cautionary tale, reminding them that not everything that rockets up lands gracefully.
So yeah, one day you’re talking about 23,000% gains, and the next you’re reading about fraud trials and prison time. That’s the kind of plot twist only crypto can, and evidently will, serve you.
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