Caroline Ellison joins nonprofit Manifund in full-time role after FTX collapse

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research who served prison time for her role in the FTX collapse, has joined the nonprofit grant platform Manifund in a full-time technical and operational role. Ellison, who initially worked under a pseudonym, is restricted by SEC and CFTC bans from executive or trading roles in finance. While Manifund co-founder Austin Chen defended the hire as a second chance, critics like former Astera Institute CEO Cate Hall have condemned the decision, highlighting Manifund's historical ties to the FTX Future Fund.

Caroline Ellison Manifund appointment

• ▪Caroline Ellison began a trial role at Manifund on July 13, 2026, and transitioned to a full-time role on August 10, 2026.
• ▪Manifund co-founder Austin Chen stated he hired Caroline Ellison to give her a second chance because she admitted wrongdoing, cooperated with investigators, and completed her sentence.
• ▪Caroline Ellison initially worked at Manifund under the pseudonym "Carol" for her first two months.
• ▪Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, joined the nonprofit organization Manifund as a full-time employee in August 2026.

SEC CFTC regulatory restrictions

• ▪In December 2025, the SEC filed proposed final consent judgments restricting Caroline Ellison from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years and imposing a five-year conduct-based injunction.
• ▪In August 2026, the CFTC imposed a five-year trading ban and a 10-year registration bar on Caroline Ellison.

FTX settlement terms

• ▪Caroline Ellison began serving a two-year prison sentence on November 1, 2024, and was released early in January 2026 due to her cooperation with investigators.
• ▪Caroline Ellison testified against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
• ▪Caroline Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 to fraud and conspiracy charges related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Manifund operations infrastructure work

• ▪At Manifund, Caroline Ellison is responsible for technical infrastructure, logistics, and customer support, and will not be involved in selecting which projects receive funding.
• ▪Manifund is an open grant platform that has financed 486 projects, raised $17.2 million, and transferred $5.46 million through regrantors.
• ▪During her early work at Manifund, Caroline Ellison developed a reconciliation tool that identified misreported transactions totaling five to six figures in the Manifund database.

FTX Future Fund ties

• ▪The SEC has claimed that Alameda Research used misappropriated FTX customer funds for trading and other investments, making Caroline Ellison's appointment sensitive due to Manifund's ties to the FTX Future Fund.
• ▪Manifund co-founder Austin Chen acknowledged that Manifund has ties to the FTX Future Fund, stating he had a "keen debt" to the fund which backed the initial Manifold initiative.

Community reactions to hiring

• ▪Manifund co-founder Austin Chen admitted that allowing Caroline Ellison to work under a pseudonym for several months meant the organization had "compromised on transparency."
• ▪Cate Hall, the former CEO of the Astera Institute, criticized Manifund's decision to hire Caroline Ellison, calling it "truly terrible judgment."

Debatable claims

• ▪Manifund was justified in hiring Caroline Ellison
• ▪Manifund compromised its integrity by letting Caroline Ellison work under a pseudonym