Jailed Crypto Founder Seeks Trump Pardon
Sam Bankman‑Fried, the former billionaire who founded cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has applied for a pardon from former President Donald Trump while serving the sentence.
He received a 25‑year term after being convicted on multiple federal fraud charges tied to FTX and its sister company Alameda Research.
Only two years of his term have passed, yet the defendant has filed a pardon application with the Department of Justice, according to official records.
A pardon would effectively erase the convictions on the fraud charges that brought him to jail.
SBF has not requested a commutation, which would shorten his sentence, and is still appealing the original convictions.
The application is part of a larger batch of over 20,000 pardon and commutation requests seen in DOJ filings.
Former President Trump has granted pardons to a handful of high‑profile figures, including participants in the January 6 Capitol attacks, former staff members, a dark‑web marketplace founder, and the founder of cryptocurrency platform Binance.
In an earlier interview, Trump declined to issue a pardon for SBF, saying he would not act on the request.
No commissioner or White House spokesman commented on the new application, and SBF’s lawyer has not responded to inquiries.
