Sam Bankman-Fried Unlikely to Receive Presidential Pardon from Trump
US President Donald Trump reportedly has no plans to pardon former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), regardless of issuing a wave of clemency since returning to workplace.
In his first yr again as President, Trump has granted a whole bunch of pardons and commutations. This consists of a number of high-profile figures within the cryptocurrency trade.
Sam Bankman-Fried Is Not Getting a Presidential Pardon
In a latest interview with The New York Times, President Donald Trump made it clear that a presidential pardon for Bankman-Fried is unlikely. The President additionally referenced a number of outstanding circumstances the place he has no intention of granting a pardon.
This consists of former New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Bankman-Fried acquired a 25-year jail sentence after being convicted on several counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to the collapse of the FTX trade. Despite the conviction, efforts to safe clemency have continued.
In January, Bloomberg reported that his parents launched outreach efforts aimed toward securing a pardon from Trump. The former FTX CEO renewed these efforts in February 2025 during his first interview from jail with The New York Sun.
“I considered myself on the time as type of center-left, and that’s not how I view myself anymore. By 2022, I had spent a bunch of time in Washington, D.C., working with legislators, regulators, and the chief department, and I turned actually annoyed and dissatisfied with what I noticed of the Biden administration and the Democratic Party. Particularly on crypto coverage, the Biden administration was simply extremely harmful and tough to work with. I believe my case matches into that broader context,” SBF said.
Bankman-Fried has additionally filed an attraction in search of to overturn his 25-year sentence. For now, he’s serving his sentence at a low-security jail close to Los Angeles. SBF is eligible for launch in October 2044.
Spotlight on Trump’s Crypto Pardons in 2025
While Bankman-Fried’s pardon hopes have been dashed, Trump has signaled openness to clemency in different crypto-related circumstances. The President recently said he would “take a look at” the case of Samourai Wallet CEO Keonne Rodriguez.
Notably, Trump has issued three high-profile crypto-related pardons in 2025:
- Ross Ulbricht, the founding father of Silk Road, was pardoned in January 2025.
- In March, Trump additionally pardoned the co-founders of BitMEX, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, in addition to Gregory Dwyer, the previous head of enterprise growth.
- Lastly, the President’s October 2025 pardon cleared Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) of his 2023 conviction.
Zhao’s pardon drew substantial criticism from some industry executives in addition to regulators. Seven Senate Democrats referred to as for an investigation into the choice. Lawmakers, together with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, questioned whether or not Trump-backed World Liberty Financial and its reported ties to Binance performed any position within the determination.
The publish Sam Bankman-Fried Unlikely to Receive Presidential Pardon from Trump appeared first on BeInCrypto.
