Sam Bankman-Fried, the former crypto mogul serving a 25-year fraud sentence, has formally requested a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. The request comes as Bankman-Fried continues to appeal his conviction tied to the collapse of FTX, the exchange he founded.
The pardon request
Bankman-Fried’s legal team submitted the appeal to Trump’s office, though the timing and exact grounds for clemency weren’t disclosed. The request lands amid a broader wave of last-minute pardon petitions to the outgoing president.
A presidential pardon would wipe out Bankman-Fried’s conviction entirely. But Trump has shown little appetite for intervening in white-collar cases tied to the crypto world, and the move carries political risks given the scale of the FTX fraud — losses topped $8 billion.
The appeal and the conviction
Bankman-Fried was found guilty in November 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. His sentencing in March 2024 brought the 25-year term, one of the stiffest ever handed down for crypto-related crimes. Prosecutors at the Southern District of New York argued he orchestrated “one of the biggest financial frauds in history,” siphoning customer deposits to cover bets, loans, and political donations.
His appeal, filed earlier this year, challenges several trial rulings. Among them: the judge’s decision to allow testimony from three former FTX executives who pleaded guilty, and limits on what Bankman-Fried could say about the role of lawyers in structuring FTX’s operations. The appeal is pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
What happens next
Trump has until noon on January 20 to decide on the request, when his pardon powers expire. The Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney reviews most such petitions, but Trump can act unilaterally. Bankman-Fried’s team has offered no public comment on the odds of success.
Meanwhile, the appeal proceeds slowly. Oral arguments haven’t been scheduled. Should the pardon fail, Bankman-Fried will remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he’s been held since his arrest in 2022.
