Trump Says He Won’t Pardon Sam Bankman-Fried

President Donald Trump made it clear in a recent interview with The New York Times that he has no plans to pardon Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO who is currently serving time in federal prison for orchestrating one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.

Bankman-Fried, once a prominent figure in the world of cryptocurrency, was convicted in 2023 of defrauding FTX customers of billions of dollars. His actions led to the collapse of the exchange and a significant loss of assets for many investors. In November 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.

Despite his conviction, Bankman-Fried and his supporters have been actively seeking clemency. In early 2024, he gave an interview from jail to Tucker Carlson, where he attempted to portray himself as misunderstood and claimed that FTX customers would have been reimbursed if not for government interference. His parents, both Stanford law professors, also wrote letters to the court asking for leniency at his sentencing.

Additionally, Bankman-Fried has tried to distance himself from his previous political affiliations, where he was a major donor to Democratic campaigns. He has since claimed to have supported Republicans as well and expressed disillusionment with the Biden administration. These efforts were seen as potential strategies to appeal to Trump-aligned media and signal openness to Republican-led clemency.

However, President Trump’s response to the possibility of pardoning Bankman-Fried was clear – he is not considering it. Unlike some of his other pardons, such as that of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in 2025, which was framed as ending the Biden administration’s “war on cryptocurrency,” Bankman-Fried’s case does not fit the narrative of political persecution.

As speculation within crypto and political circles comes to a halt, it appears that Bankman-Fried’s hopes for clemency from President Trump have been dashed. The former FTX CEO will have to serve out his sentence for the crimes he committed, facing the consequences of his actions in one of the most significant financial fraud cases in recent history.