Trump Rules Out Pardon for FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried
Former President Donald Trump has put an end to speculation that he might pardon jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, making it clear that any political escape route for the embattled crypto executive is closed.
Trump delivered the message during a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, where he also addressed the possibility of clemency for other high-profile figures, including Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the misuse of billions in customer funds. In March 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and has since appealed both the conviction and the sentence.
Talk of a pardon never fully disappeared. In January 2025, Bloomberg reported that Bankman-Fried’s parents, Stanford law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, had been exploring clemency options, holding meetings with lawyers and contacts connected to Trump’s circle.
A Track Record of Crypto Pardons
Trump’s refusal is notable because he has previously used his clemency powers for figures in the crypto world. He pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht in January 2025—a move celebrated by parts of the libertarian and Bitcoin communities.
He also pardoned the BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, following their convictions under the Bank Secrecy Act, as well as Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in October 2025—a decision that drew criticism given Binance’s high-profile regulatory history.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Zhao’s pardon at the time, framing it as a constitutional exercise of authority and pointing out that Zhao had been prosecuted under the Biden administration’s crypto enforcement efforts.
Why Bankman-Fried’s Case Stands Apart
Unlike previous crypto clemency cases, Bankman-Fried’s situation is defined less by regulatory battles and more by the widespread financial fallout from FTX’s collapse. For many investors, the scale of the losses makes mercy politically and publicly difficult.
Trump defended his broader embrace of digital assets during the interview, saying, “I got a lot of votes because I backed crypto, and I got to like it. China wanted it, and one of us was going to get it.”
For Bankman-Fried, the courts remain the only realistic path forward. His appeal continues, and Trump’s latest comments make it clear that any hope of a White House pardon has now been firmly shut.
