Trump Says No Pardon for FTX Exchange Founder Sam Bankman-Fried

President Donald Trump has stated that he will not grant a pardon to Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder and former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. In an interview with The New York Times published this week, Trump addressed questions about potential clemency for several high-profile figures. He made clear that Bankman-Fried, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence for fraud, is not under consideration.

The remarks came as Trump discussed a separate pardon request from music executive Sean Combs, whose letter he said he had received but would not act on. When reporters raised other names, including Bankman-Fried, Trump was direct in ruling out any relief for the former crypto executive. The president also said he would not consider pardons for figures such as former Senator Robert Menendez or Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

FTX Collapse and Conviction

Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to the 2022 failure of FTX, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency trading platforms. Prosecutors proved he misappropriated billions of dollars in customer deposits, using the money to cover losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research, fund political contributions, and support an extravagant lifestyle. The scheme unraveled when a surge of withdrawal requests exposed an massive shortfall, triggering the exchange's sudden bankruptcy.

The FTX collapse wiped out billions in investor funds and deepened the 2022 crypto market downturn, often referred to as the crypto winter. Confidence in centralized exchanges plummeted, prompting many users to move assets to self-custody wallets or more transparent platforms. Regulators in the United States and abroad responded with tougher oversight of crypto custody, lending practices, and disclosure requirements.

Trump's decision stands in contrast to his earlier pardons of other prominent cryptocurrency executives. In October 2025, he granted clemency to Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, who had faced charges related to anti-money-laundering violations. Earlier that year, Trump also pardoned Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX trading platform, who had been convicted on similar regulatory issues.

These prior actions were seen by some in the industry as signals of support for crypto innovation and a lighter regulatory touch. Bankman-Fried's case, however, centered on direct theft from customers rather than compliance shortcomings, which appears to explain the different outcome. This distinction highlights a boundary between regulatory missteps and outright fraud.