Manhattan federal prosecutors want disgraced FTX cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried jailed ahead of his fraud trial — claiming he “crossed a line” by allegedly working with a journalist to pressure a key witness against him. 

Bankman-Fried, 31, appeared in court later Wednesday for a hearing over the feds’ motion, where  Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled the former FTX CEO could temporarily remain free on bond and issued a gag order.

“I am very mindful of the government’s interest in this issue which I take seriously and I say… Mr. Bankman-Fried, you better take it seriously too,” Kaplan warned.

The gag order will remain in place until Kaplan can make a proper ruling once prosecutors and the defense file their official motions on Friday and Aug. 1, respectively, he said.

The feds’ Wednesday motion came after Bankman-Fried allegedly gave a New York Times reporter personal writings from his former girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who led his failed crypto hedge fund Alameda Research. 

Ellison is set to testify against Bankman-Fried, and prosecutors claim that his alleged actions amounted to witness tampering — noting that the former billionaire has had more than 1,000 phone calls with journalists.   

“This latest incident is an escalation of an ongoing campaign with the press that has now crossed a line,” prosecutor Danielle Sassoon told Kaplan during the hearing, requesting that the former crypto golden boy be put behind bars. 

“No set of release conditions can ensure the safety of the community,” she added.

Defense Attorney Mark Cohen objected to the request, saying that his team was blindsided by the government’s sudden request to detain Bankman-Fried. 

Cohen reminded the court that Bankman-Fried’s bail terms allowed him to speak with reporters, and to stop that would be infringing on his right to speak to the press. 

The attorney added that his client has had “many, many negative stories” published about him and his relationships, arguing his dealings with the press were merely a means “to protect his reputation.”  

Last week, Ellison’s private writing hit the public detailing her strained, on-again, off-again polyamorous relationship with Bankman-Fried. 

In one entry from February 2022, Ellison, now 28, wrote that the star-crossed lovers were at risk of “making things weird” and “causing drama” at the company, worrying “it doesn’t really feel like there’s an end in sight,” the New York Times reported.

In another post addressed to Bankman-Fried in April 2022, Ellison wrote that an earlier breakup with him had “significantly decreased my excitement about Alameda.”

After the collapse of FTX and Alameda, Ellison pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, telling a court that she was “truly sorry” for her actions. 

She and two other former FTX executives, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, have agreed to cooperate with authorities in the case against Bankman-Fried. 

The former crypto king faces trial on Oct. 2 for allegedly misappropriating billions of FTX customer funds to cover losses from risky bets at the cryptocurrency hedge fund and to bankroll a lavish lifestyle that included extravagant property purchases in the Bahamas.

Bankman-Fried, who is currently under house arrest, has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the array of charges. 

With Post wires