Despite signing numerous pardons and sentence reductions in 2025 that closely concern the cryptocurrency world, US President Donald Trump has clearly closed the door on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. In a comprehensive interview with The New York Times, Trump addressed the frequently discussed possibility of a presidential pardon, explicitly stating that there are no plans for a pardon for Bankman-Fried.
No pardon for SBF
Trump's statement comes after a wave of pardons and sentence reductions covering hundreds of people in the first year of his second presidential term. These decisions included notable figures from the cryptocurrency ecosystem. However, Trump's approach shows that he does not evaluate every crypto case in the same way. Bankman-Fried's case stands out as one of the clearest examples of this distinction. Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty in the case opened after the collapse of the FTX exchange, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for misuse of customer funds and various fraud offenses. FTX, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, experienced a historic bankruptcy process with billions of dollars in losses.
During the court proceedings, prosecutors revealed that user assets were illegally channeled through Alameda Research, and that this had become a systematic operation. Despite this, Bankman-Fried's family hasn't completely lost hope for a pardon. As Bloomberg reported in January, his family made several attempts to contact the Trump administration. In February 2025, in his first interview from prison, Bankman-Fried described himself as disillusioned with the Biden administration's crypto policies, attempting to frame his case within a broader political context. However, Trump's recent statements suggest these efforts have been unsuccessful. Trump's stance is further highlighted by his other pardons in the crypto space. In 2025, the President pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
This was followed by pardons for BitMEX founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, as well as former executive Gregory Dwyer. In October, the conviction of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was overturned by a presidential pardon. The pardon, in particular, sparked controversy in Washington. Some Democrats in the Senate demanded an investigation into the background of the decision. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders argued that the possible links between the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial project and Binance should be examined. Looking at this picture, the boundaries drawn by Trump become clearer. The President views the crypto sector as an area that needs strategic and economic support.
However, this support does not include executives convicted of crimes such as large-scale fraud and misuse of customer funds. Trump's "closed file" approach to Bankman-Fried reveals that this distinction is a conscious choice. Bankman-Fried, currently in a low-security prison near Los Angeles, continues to serve his sentence. According to the current schedule, he has the possibility of being released as early as 2044, including parole. The appeals process remains uncertain.
