Sam Bankman-Fried officially filed for a presidential pardon Monday, even as the White House pointed back to Trump’s January statement that he has no plans to grant one.
SBF Spent A Year Courting Trump On X And Got Nothing Back
Bankman-Fried submitted his application through the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, the standard federal channel used by thousands of people annually.
Over the past year, the 34-year-old has been active on X, publicly praising Trump’s actions including the pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, in what appeared to be a deliberate effort to attract executive attention.
The strategy has not worked. Trump told the New York Times in January he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried.
When asked Monday about the formal filing, a White House spokesperson simply pointed back to those same January comments without offering anything new.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on multiple fraud and conspiracy charges for stealing billions in customer funds from FTX.
He received a 25-year sentence in 2024 and currently sits at a low-security federal facility in Santa Barbara, California, while his conviction appeal remains active.
Drake Called For His Release, FTX Advisor Settled For $54M
The pardon filing comes amid broader FTX-related developments keeping the case in the news.
In May, rapper Drake demanded Bankman-Fried’s release in a track called “Dust” off his album “Iceman,” rapping references to the FTX penthouse and expressing direct support.
Around the same time, former FTX legal advisor Fenwick settled for $54 million over allegations the law firm aided and abetted the fraud.
Fenwick settled without admitting wrongdoing. A separate bid by Bankman-Fried for a new trial was dismissed by a judge who labeled the new evidence as “wildly conspiratorial.”
Why This Matters For Crypto Markets
A pardon would carry no direct price impact but holds symbolic weight for crypto regulation narratives.
Trump’s second term has already delivered the GENIUS Act, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and the push for the CLARITY Act.
Granting clemency to the man who triggered the 2022 crypto winter would send a very different kind of signal.
Prediction markets are skeptical, with Polymarket giving a pardon before 2027 only a 13% chance.
Image: Shutterstock
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