Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX chief serving a 25-year federal sentence, has formally applied for a presidential pardon through the Department of Justice website. The application lands months after President Trump explicitly ruled out clemency for Bankman-Fried in a January 2026 interview and subsequent White House statements. The DOJ will review the request under standard procedures, though the president retains the authority to act independently.
The long-shot bid
Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering tied to the collapse of FTX, which cost customers over $8 billion. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down a 25-year prison term on March 28, 2024, plus $11 billion in forfeiture, citing the unprecedented scale of the crime and the harm inflicted on thousands of victims. Despite the sentence, Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence, arguing that FTX faced a liquidity crisis rather than fraud and that his prosecution was politically targeted.
His parents, both Stanford professors, have explored clemency options with Trump-connected lawyers since early 2025. But the political headwinds are stiff. Polymarket bettors give Bankman-Fried only a 7% chance of receiving a pardon from Trump in 2026.
Why Trump said no
Trump didn't mince words. In a January 2026 interview, he ruled out a pardon for Bankman-Fried, and the White House has repeated that position in public statements since. No shift has emerged as of June 2026. The president's stance aligns with his broader tough-on-crime posture, but it also reflects the sheer scale of the FTX fraud — one of the largest financial crimes in U.S. history.
Bankman-Fried's legal team continues to appeal his conviction. Those appeals remain pending, and the pardon application does not halt that process.
What FTX creditors have recovered
While Bankman-Fried fights his sentence, the FTX bankruptcy estate has been busy returning money to customers. The estate has distributed billions, with many customer classes recovering 100% to 120% of their allowed claims — valued at the November 2022 petition date, before crypto prices rebounded. The fourth distribution in March 2026 delivered $2.2 billion, pushing U.S. customer claims to full recovery in key buckets.
That recovery doesn't change the criminal case. Bankman-Fried still owes $11 billion in forfeiture, a sum that dwarfs the value of his known assets.
The DOJ will process the pardon application through its standard review pipeline. But with Trump's public veto and no White House shift in sight, the odds look steep. Bankman-Fried's appeals plod on, and for now, the 25-year sentence stands.
