Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted founder of the tragically collapsed FTX crypto exchange, is not in the radar to get a presidential pardon from “crypto president” Donald Trump.
During an interview with the New York Times, President Trump was asked if he was considering to grant a pardon to disgraced rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs over charges linked to prostitution. In response, the 47th U.S. President said neither Diddy, nor FTX’s fallen CEO SBF were on his list of potential pardon receivers.
🚨JUST IN: 🇺🇸 President Trump shows no interest in pardoning Sam Bankman-Fried despite his lobbying – NYT. pic.twitter.com/781Ruu4agP
— Coin Headlines (@coinheadline) January 8, 2026
SBF is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in California, U.S. for defrauding FTX customers off billions. He was sentenced in March 2024.
Last year, SBF had tried to push for a pardon citing millions of donations he had poured into the U.S. political ecosystem before FTX collapsed in 2022.
There are no records of a direct clemency plea that SBF has submitted to President Trump as of now. SBF’s parents who are both Stanford Law Professors, however, have been trying to secure a pardon for their son from the White House.
President Trump did not provide elaborate details on why he does not wish to extend mercy to SBF despite having created an image of being a pro-crypto president. Last year, he pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao for being guilty in breaching a U.S. banking law and Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Route.
President Trump’s pardon of CZ had stirred ethical concerns among opposition in the U.S. — who even called the billionaire president corrupt.