Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has filed an application for a presidential pardon with the United States Department of Justice, seeking forgiveness for the fraud convictions that landed him in prison. The 34-year-old former billionaire, once one of the most prominent figures in the global cryptocurrency industry, is two years into a 25-year sentence handed down after his conviction on multiple federal charges.
Bankman-Fried's application is specifically for a "pardon after completion of sentence" — a legal instrument that would erase his convictions under the law once he has served his full term, rather than a commutation, which would shorten the sentence itself. His request sits alongside more than 20,000 other pardon and commutation applications currently on file with the Office of the Pardon Attorney. A White House representative declined to comment, and a lawyer for Bankman-Fried did not respond to requests for comment.
FTX, which Bankman-Fried founded and led alongside the affiliated investment firm Alameda Research, collapsed spectacularly in late 2022 after it emerged that customer deposits — totalling more than $8 billion — had been secretly funnelled into Alameda without clients' consent. The funds were used to finance risky investments and, in part, to support Bankman-Fried's lavish personal lifestyle. When panicked customers rushed to withdraw their money, the platform could not meet demand and filed for bankruptcy.
Despite the application, the prospects of a pardon appear limited. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump stated in an interview with the New York Times that he did not intend to forgive Bankman-Fried's sentence. Bankman-Fried has maintained his innocence throughout and is separately pursuing an appeal against his conviction.
The case matters beyond its headline figures. FTX was used by millions of retail investors worldwide, and its collapse wiped out savings for countless ordinary people while shaking broader confidence in the cryptocurrency sector. The pardon request is likely to renew debate about the boundaries of presidential clemency power, particularly as Trump has already granted pardons to several other individuals convicted of fraud since returning to the White House.