CoinDesk
Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, formally applied for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump this week, with the clemency petition appearing Monday in records maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney as a pending case. Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence after his 2023 conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the $8 billion hole in FTX's accounts that triggered the exchange's November 2022 collapse.
In a phone interview with FOX Business correspondent Susan Li, Bankman-Fried confirmed the request: when asked whether he would want a pardon from the White House, he answered "Absolutely," adding the decision was "ultimately up to the president, not up to me." His parents — Stanford Law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried — have separately been reaching out to figures in Trump's orbit to lobby on his behalf, though no direct White House contact has been confirmed.
Why it matters
The petition is the most concrete escalation yet of a months-long campaign by Bankman-Fried to align himself publicly with Trump — praising the Iran strikes, crediting the president with "saving" the SEC by replacing Gary Gensler with Paul Atkins, and citing lower gasoline prices — while pursuing an appeal of his conviction in a parallel track. It mirrors the playbook he laid out earlier to court Republican goodwill after spending the 2020 cycle as a Democratic mega-donor.
Trump has shown clear willingness to use pardon power on crypto-adjacent defendants, having already pardoned Silk Road's Ross Ulbricht, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the BitMEX co-founders since returning to office. But the SBF ask lands in a different bucket: in a January New York Times interview, Trump explicitly grouped Bankman-Fried with high-profile defendants he did not intend to pardon, telling him not to count on clemency.
Market impact
FTX creditor recoveries have continued moving through the bankruptcy estate independent of any pardon outcome, and the petition does not change the legal timeline for the appeal.
Frequently asked questions
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Did Sam Bankman-Fried actually file a presidential pardon petition?
Yes. The clemency petition appeared Monday in records maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney and is listed as pending, meaning a review has been opened.
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How long is SBF serving and what was he convicted of?
Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence after his 2023 conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the $8 billion hole in FTX's customer accounts that triggered the exchange's November 2022 collapse.
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Has Trump signaled he will pardon SBF?
No. In a January interview with The New York Times, Trump explicitly grouped Bankman-Fried with high-profile defendants he did not intend to pardon, telling him not to count on clemency.
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Which crypto figures has Trump already pardoned?
Since returning to office, Trump has pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the co-founders of BitMEX.
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Are SBF's parents lobbying the White House on his behalf?
Stanford Law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried have reached out to individuals in Trump's orbit to explore a possible pardon, but no direct discussions with White House officials have been confirmed.
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