Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally filed a petition seeking a presidential pardon, Bloomberg reported.
The petition asks for a pardon "after completion of sentence," not a commutation that would shorten or end his time in prison. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in 2024 on fraud charges connected to the collapse of FTX, which left customers unable to recover billions of dollars in funds. He has also filed a separate appeal to overturn the original ruling and has sought a retrial.
According to Engadget, the pardon request comes at a moment when the White House has issued pardons to several figures connected to the cryptocurrency industry. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao received a pardon last year. The Trump family has its own business interests in the crypto sector.
President Trump addressed the question of a potential Bankman-Fried pardon in an interview with The New York Times earlier this year. He said he had no plans to offer one, though he needed the reporter to identify who Bankman-Fried was before responding.
Bankman-Fried remains in federal prison. No decision on his petition has been announced.
