Manifund hires former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison while fighting FTX lawsuit
Manifund hires former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison
Manifund, a charity focused on artificial intelligence and effective altruism causes, has confirmed that it hired Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, the trading firm tied to the collapsed crypto exchange FTX. The charity, founded by Austin Chen, disclosed the hiring on the Effective Altruism Forum.
The hire comes while Manifund is fighting a lawsuit from FTX over money the charity received from the exchange's philanthropic arm before FTX's collapse.
Key numbers
- $500,000 — the amount Chen's organization requested from the FTX Future Fund in March 2022.
- $1,508,000 — the minimum FTX now demands back in its amended lawsuit.
- Nearly 500 projects and almost $20 million — grants Manifund says it has funded, according to its own data.
- Two years — the prison sentence Ellison received. She was released in January 2026.
How Manifund is tied to FTX
In March 2022, Chen's organization, then called Manifold Markets, applied for $500,000 from the FTX Future Fund, FTX's philanthropic arm, to set up Manifold For Charity, now known as Manifund. Protos reports that two prominent effective altruism figures, William MacAskill and Leopold Aschenbrenner, helped run the Future Fund and helped approve Chen's application.
Six months later, FTX and Alameda Research filed for bankruptcy, and their leaders, Sam Bankman-Fried and Ellison, were jailed. Of the other former FTX and Alameda executives, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh received no prison sentence, while Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years.
FTX sues to recover the money
In 2024, FTX sued Manifold Markets and demanded the return of $508,000. In July 2025, FTX added Manifold For Charity, now known as Manifund, to its amended complaint, which now demands the return of "no less than $1,508,000." Protos reports that the case has moved forward but that no resolution has been reached.
What is confirmed
Manifund's own forum post confirms Ellison's hiring. Court filings cited by Protos confirm the lawsuit and the amounts demanded. The sentences for Ellison, Bankman-Fried, Wang, and Singh are reported by Protos as matters of record. Manifund's grant totals come from the charity's own website, so they are self-reported rather than independently verified.
What is still unclear
The supplied material contains a small inconsistency: this Protos article says Ellison was released in January 2026, while a related Protos headline from December 2025 says she left federal prison after 11 months. The material does not explain the difference. It is also unclear what role Ellison will have at Manifund, and how or when the FTX lawsuit will end.
Why it matters
Protos argues the hiring creates an awkward appearance: a charity that promotes effective altruism, the idea of maximizing positive impact, is fighting to keep money away from FTX's creditors while employing someone who served a prison sentence over her role at Alameda Research. According to Protos, Chen defended the hire in his forum post by arguing that people with criminal records deserve a chance if they are reformed. The article questions whether the decision fits effective altruism's stated goals, and notes that EA Forum users are debating the same question. These are the publication's and community's opinions, not established facts.