Trump Rules Out Pardoning FTX Founder

Trump rules out pardoning FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, serving 25 years for fraud.

US President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of pardoning the founder of FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is serving a 25-year sentence for fraud. The politician made this statement in an interview with The New York Times. 

The “stop list” also includes former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, and former New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez.

SBF has been in custody since August 2023, when a federal judge denied his request for release on bail pending the criminal trial. In March 2024, the crypto entrepreneur was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty on seven counts. 

Media outlets have reported that Bankman-Fried’s parents are exploring avenues to secure his pardon. Journalists from the Wall Street Journal have written about the preparation of strategic memorandums and the involvement of external lawyers in the case. However, they found no direct contacts with Trump’s campaign team. 

Conservative activist Laura Loomer claimed there was a “large-scale and well-funded” campaign to persuade the US president to pardon the FTX founder. However, there were no official confirmations. 

The US Department of Justice also did not include SBF in the list of candidates for pardon in 2025.

Despite Trump having freed Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and former Binance head Changpeng Zhao, the market remains skeptical about Bankman-Fried’s case. The community estimates his chances of being released from prison before 2027 at only 5%.

Bankman-Fried’s situation is complicated by his political past: the FTX founder was a key donor to the Democratic Party and personally to Joe Biden.

Appeal Prospects

Bankman-Fried still has a chance to appeal the sentence. Hearings in the Court of Appeals took place in November, but the final document has yet to be filed in the registry. If denied, the defense will have only one option left—an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

The sentences of others involved in the FTX collapse are nearing completion. Sentenced to two years in prison, Caroline Ellison will be released on January 21. In October, she was transferred from a federal facility in Connecticut to the New York Reentry Management Office—a standard procedure in preparation for release.

Back in late October, Bankman-Fried claimed FTX was solvent at the time of its collapse. According to him, its assets amounted to $25 billion, while liabilities were $13 billion.