U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing a broad pardon initiative, bringing renewed focus to imprisoned cryptocurrency executives and software developers who have been lobbying the White House for clemency over the past several months.
Summary
Trump is said to be weighing nearly 250 pardons ahead of America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations.
Crypto-related figures such as Sam Bankman-Fried and Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez are still part of ongoing clemency discussions.
Several major crypto personalities, including the BitMEX founders, Changpeng Zhao, and Ross Ulbricht, have already received pardons during Trump’s current term.
According to a Thursday report by The Wall Street Journal, Trump is exploring the possibility of issuing roughly 250 pardons as part of celebrations tied to the United States’ 250th anniversary. Sources familiar with the discussions said the announcements could come either on June 14, coinciding with Trump’s birthday, or during July 4 events next year.
The report added that conversations within the White House remain preliminary, with no final decisions made yet. More than 16,000 clemency requests were officially submitted last year alone.
Within the crypto industry, multiple convicted founders and developers have continued campaigning for presidential pardons since Trump returned to office. Interest in these efforts has intensified after several crypto-linked figures already secured clemency during his second presidency.
Crypto figures continue seeking clemency
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried remains one of the most closely followed names in pardon speculation. He was convicted in 2023 on seven criminal charges connected to the collapse of FTX and later received a 25-year prison sentence.
Over recent months, Bankman-Fried has attempted to regain political and public support through interviews and social media appearances. However, earlier reports suggested Trump privately ruled out the possibility of pardoning him.
Separate clemency campaigns have also formed around Keonne Rodriguez, one of the developers behind the crypto-mixing platform Samourai Wallet. Trump previously stated in December that he would review Rodriguez’s case and consider a possible pardon.
An online petition backing Rodriguez had reportedly gathered 16,082 signatures by Thursday.
Meanwhile, supporters of Roman Storm and Roman Semenov — developers linked to Tornado Cash — have also launched pardon campaigns, although public support has remained relatively limited. One petition supporting Storm reportedly had 22 signatures, while another for Semenov had only nine.
Storm has not personally requested a pardon. Last August, federal prosecutors obtained a conviction against him for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He still faces additional accusations related to money laundering conspiracy and sanctions violations.
Authorities in the United States continue to list Semenov as wanted by the FBI.
The cases involving Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash developers have sparked wider debate throughout the crypto community. Privacy advocates and open-source software supporters argue that developers should not face criminal liability for how users independently utilize decentralized platforms.
Several crypto executives already received pardons
Trump has already granted clemency to a number of prominent individuals connected to the digital asset industry during his current administration.
Last year, BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed received pardons after previously pleading guilty to violations of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act tied to anti-money laundering and know-your-customer compliance failures.
Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ, also secured a pardon in 2025 after serving a four-month prison sentence linked to failures in maintaining effective anti-money laundering controls at Binance.
Earlier in Trump’s presidency, Ross Ulbricht was granted clemency for the life sentence connected to his role in operating the dark web marketplace Silk Road.
